Innovation
by hushhushyou
Summary: Fangirls weren't worth the time Sasuke was spending trying to gain a new found popularity. But the girl who got him into this mess? Well maybe he could find time then. AU
1. Chapter 1

So I've always read stories where Sasuke is popular and handsome and Sakura is anything else. Well here's a story where Sakura is most popular and prettiest girl in school yet Sasuke, he's a loner. Surprised? You should be. No jk. This probably sucks; it came to me really late at night. Plus I'm not sure if anybody else had this idea? So if they did. I'm sorry I had no clue and please tell me right away

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned Naruto but sadly I don't. 

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

There, Sasuke sat at the back of class. Summer had ended the day before. It was the first day of school and this certain Uchiha was not at all fond of returning. Why would he want to? He had no friends. No that was a lie, he did have one friend but the fact was he couldn't talk to him during school hours. You see, his only friend was Uzumaki Naruto. He was part of the popular group though, so they could only talk and hang out at places where nobody could suspect them and no, they weren't gay. You're probably wondering how someone as good-looking as Sasuke, could be a loner? Well he was indeed handsome but he didn't know how to let people see that. He always wore a beanie on his head, which covered up most of his hair and he wore glasses. His clothing style wasn't exactly.. style. It consisted of ugly plaid button ups and baggy pants. Also, when you talked to him, he didn't exactly talk back. He would either sit there and stay quiet or just give you an icy glare. Sasuke was cold hearted and did not bother trying to make new friends. Anyway, back to the story.

So as Sasuke sat there angrily waiting for the teacher to show up, a girl with pink hair and jade orbs walked in. She was the most popular and prettiest girl in school. Her name was Haruno Sakura. She was not snobby nor was she a bitch. Actually, she was the only one in the 'popular group' that was actually considerate to **everyone**. Everybody liked her, well mostly. So when she walked in, the 'popular group' motioned for her to sit near them. Instead of doing what her friends wanted her to, she locked eyes with Sasuke. It was a tense moment, Sasuke could feel shivers go up his spine so he gave Sakura a glare but she smiled and walked over to him. _What the hell is this girl doing?_

"Hey. I'm not sure if we met before but I'm Sakura." She gave a sweet smile that no one not even Sasuke, could resist liking. But he did a good enough job to hide his emotions. So he sat there staring timidly at the girl.

"Hn."

"May I ask who you might be?" Again, the girl smiled and Sasuke tried hard not to look at it. Instead he sat there quietly. _Just act like you always do, Sasuke. She's probably trying to make me like her and then when I least expect it, she'll embarrass me in front of everyone. Right, I'm not letting that happen._ Sakura coughed to make Sasuke turn his head and look at her. She was about to ask again when one of her friends from the table called her name.

"Sakura! What're you doing? He's not going to talk to you and you shouldn't even be talking to him. He's a loser. Just leave him alone." It was a girl named Ino. She was probably one of the bitchiest girls you'd ever meet but if you got to know her, she could be really nice. But her reputation made her a bitch during school and so heck, that's what she'd be then. Atleast to everyone else except her close friends. Sakura turned her head to face Ino and made a gesture to hold on. She then turned again to face Sasuke and smiled.

"Well maybe we can talk in another class. I'll be seeing you. Bye!" Sakura walked towards her friends and sat down. Sasuke didn't mutter a goodbye. He just glared fixedly at the spot where Sakura had been standing. _We better not have any more classes together._ Just then the teacher walked in.

"Good morning class. Sorry I'm late." Guess who the teacher was? Oh yes it was Kakashi. Mr. Better late than never. He walked over to his desk and sat down, pulling out an orange book.

"Okay today, let's introduce ourselves. As you know I'm Hatake Kakashi. I'd rather you just call me Kakashi. Let's see, you girl in the first row. Start and then we'll just keep going from there." A random girl stood up and introduced herself. Then the next person did and so on and so on. The table where Sakura sat, included Neji, Tenten, Ino, and Naruto and they all introduced themselves. Then a guy stood up lazily and crossed his arms.

"I'm Nara Shikamaru." Then he sat down. Kakashi looked at him.

"Tell me more than your name."

"You didn't tell us more than your name."

"I'm the teacher, I don't have to. Now tell us something else." Shikamaru sighed and muttered 'troublesome' to himself. Then he stood up again.

"I like chess." And sat down once more. Kakashi smiled but Ino snickered.

"Only losers play chess." The whole class excluding Sasuke, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Hinata roared in laughter. Sasuke rolled his eyes. _That wasn't even funny._ Shikamaru laid his head on his hand with his elbow on the table.

"How troublesome." Next person to introduce herself was Hinata. She stood up slowly.

"M-my name. My name i-is Hyuuga H-Hinata. And I l-like.." Hinata blushed and looked towards Naruto who wasn't paying attention at all. He was dozing off to sleep. She muttered something and sat down quickly. Kakashi gave a questioned look but decided not to ask.

"Okay next person." More people introduced themselves blah blah blah. Then it came Sasuke's turn. He didn't bother to stand up and he glared at Kakashi.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I have no desire to tell you anything more." He switched his glare from Kakashi to his notebook and didn't say anything else. Kakashi smirked in amusement.

"Well I guess we're done for the day. Just talk amongst yourselves till the bell rings." Kakashi returned to reading his orange book while the class started in a roar of chatter. Sakura sat in her desk and smiled to herself. _So the name's Sasuke huh?_ Ino snapped her fingers in front of Sakura.

"Hello earth to Sakura? What're you smiling about?" Ino looked at Sakura suspiciously. Sakura just smiled back.

"I'm just glad I know that guy's name now."

"Oh right like it really mattered." Ino rolled her eyes and looked towards Sasuke who was glaring furiously at his notebook. Ino turned to look at Sakura and she ran her fingers through her hair.

"You know, he's not all that bad looking."

"Are you kidding me? He's ugly. Sakura just forget about him. If you befriend him, which I doubt you would be able to, you'll ruin your reputation." Sakura laughed.

"Whatever you say." She opened her notebook and scribbled down a few thoughts. Ino returned to talking to the rest of the group and Sasuke had stopped glaring at his notebook and looked towards the clock. _1 period down, 7 more to go._ Just then the bell rung, signaling the end of the period. Everybody hurriedly gathered their things and ran out the door. Sasuke who was always the last person behind got up and noticed Sakura still gathering her stuff. He didn't want to have her be the last person to leave so he stood there waiting. She was taking an awfully long time. Sasuke glared.

"Hurry up." Sakura put the last of her supplies in her messenger bag and looked up to see Sasuke glaring at her.

"Oh sorry. Were you waiting for me?"

"Just go." Sasuke crossed his arms and waited for the girl to move but she didn't.

"Why don't you just go? It's nice of you to wait for me but ladies don't always have to go first."

"I'm not trying to be nice. Could you just go already?"

"Why?" Sakura crossed her arms also.

"Hn."

"I'm not moving till you tell me why I have to leave first." Sakura noticed Sasuke uncross his arms and glared more at Sakura.

"Whatever." And he started walking towards the door. Sakura smiled and strode out the door before Sasuke could. But not before she replied.

"See? You're still last one out the door." Sakura streamed into the crowds of people as Sasuke stood by the doorway. _Weirdo._ And with that last thought, Sasuke walked towards his locker to gather things for his next class.

* * *

**Okay really short chapter. But this was more of an introduction of who were who and what not. Also so I could give you a lame description of how Sasuke looked and acted. You don't know how hard it is to make Sasuke NOT hot lol. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

So the first chapter was bit short. I tried to make this one longer. Anyway, who's ready for chapter two? If you are then please read on!

**Disclaimer:** I'm sorry for those who thought I owned Naruto. Okay nobody thought that but still sadly, I do not own Naruto.

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

Sasuke switched his books and closed his locker shut. When he walked into his next class, he sat all the way in the back again. The teacher this time was already in the classroom but she paid no attention to the obnoxious students walking in. As Sasuke waited patiently for class to begin, he put on his headphones and listened to the I-pod that was stashed inside his pants pocket. He pulled his beanie farther down his forehead to cover his eyes and then closed them. As the music began softly playing into his ears, Sasuke began to relax and once relaxed he drifted off to sleep. But his nap didn't last long because that's when Sakura walked in. Luckily, none of her friends were in that class with her so she could sit anywhere she wanted to. Sakura looked around and spotted Sasuke. She decided to sit next to him. He could feel a presence nearby but he was too tired to see whom it was. Sakura sat there, waiting for him to wake up but he didn't. So she touched the end of the beanie and pulled it up a little so she could see his eyes. As soon as she did that, Sasuke fluttered his eyes open immediately and was followed by an intense stare. _Damn it. She's in this class too._

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Hi to you too." Sakura smiled.

"Don't touch me. **Ever.**" Sasuke stared daggers towards Sakura but she acted as if he wasn't doing anything. Surprisingly, he didn't intimidate her.

"So, looks like we have another class together."

"Hn." Sasuke took down his headphones and put it in his pants pocket.

"How come you don't talk much?" Sakura asked.

"Why should I?"

"Why shouldn't you?"

"How come you talk too much?" Sasuke replied, exaggerating the too. Sakura giggled.

"I dunno. I guess it's just 'cuz I want to. I like having conversations with people and I like getting to know them."

"Aa." Sasuke didn't really feel like talking. He meant to ask as a rhetorical question but she answered it. Although he had to admit, Sakura did intrigue him. And if he weren't so stubborn, he would've wanted to be her friend. But this was Uchiha Sasuke; he didn't let just anybody be his friend. Even if he wished he had more friends, he wasn't the type just to accept anybody because they were nice to him. So it was going to take Sakura a lot more effort to get Sasuke to be her friend. Which she didn't mind at all.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you are one heck of a challenge." Sakura whispered to herself as she turned to face the teacher but Sasuke heard her. A smirk spread upon his face and he spent the rest of the period trying not to glimpse over at Sakura. Which by the way was pretty hard for him.

* * *

Two more periods passed by and Sasuke was relieved (and a little bit disappointed) to find that Sakura wasn't in any of them. It was now lunchtime and he searched through the perimeter of the lunchroom. The normal place where he usually sat was occupied by a couple of freshman. Feeling too lazy to tell them off, he walked out of the doors that led to the outside area and spotted a bench nearby. It was shaded under a weeping cherry tree. He walked over to it and sat down, opening the paper lunch bag and dumping its contents on the space beside him. While he grabbed a sandwich with one hand, his other hand took out his headphones and placed them by his ears. As he began taking a bite out of his sandwich, he noticed a frustrated Sakura pace towards him. She exigently sat next to Sasuke and crushed a bag of chips along with. Not noticing, she covered her face with her hands and grumbled loudly. Sasuke, angered that Sakura had crushed part of his lunch, tapped her on the shoulder roughly. She lifted her head up, hands still covering her face, and made an opening in her hand to peer through. Realizing it was Sasuke; she casually slid her hands from her face onto her jeans.

"Hi."

"You're sitting on my chips." Sakura stood up and glanced at the spot where she was sitting. There it was. A bag full of crushed chips. She grabbed it hesitantly and smiled nervously.

"Um. Here you go." Sasuke contorted his face in disgust.

"You can have it." He turned away, taking another bite of his sandwich. Sakura sat back down and opened the chips. She forgot to bring her lunch today and she disliked eating the school's food so she was stuck eating chips that her butt had recently been sitting on.

"Yum. Ass. My favorite kind of chips." Sakura muttered as she popped a chip in her mouth. Sasuke glanced towards her and smirked.

"Really. I prefer the liver kind." _Wow that was really lame. I'm better off without talking._ Sasuke thought to himself. Sakura couldn't help but laugh.

"Was that an attempt to make a joke?"

"Hn."

"It's okay. I thought it was funny." Sakura smiled reassuringly. Sasuke just finished off eating his sandwich and changed the subject.

"So why were you mad earlier?"

"I have a project due Friday. You'd think they'd let us off easily because it's the first day of school but noo they just had to assign us something."

"That sucks for you."

"Yah it does." Sakura patiently waited for Sasuke to say something else but he just adjusted his headphones and closed his eyes. She poked him and he replied with his eyes still shut.

"Hm?"

"So why are you sitting here?"

"What, I'm not allowed to sit here?"

"No no you can. It's just that I've always sat here in previous years, and I've never seen you over here until now." Sakura watched Sasuke open his eyes and shrug his shoulders.

"My usual seat was taken by some freshman." Sakura nodded her head.

"Well, you're welcome to sit here anytime you'd like."

"Would you be sitting here too?"

"Erm. Yah."

"Damn." Sasuke blurted out. Sakura looked at him with distress.

"You don't like sitting by me?" Sasuke feeling guilty, sighed and decided to apologize. Well not exactly apologize but something along those lines.

"I.. will let you sit next to me in the next class we have together." _I really need to stop talking._

"Oh-kay?" Sakura mumbled.

"I'm going." Sasuke got up from the bench and walked back into the cafeteria. Sakura waved halfheartedly to his retreating figure and went back to finishing off the rest of her chips. She smiled to herself hoping that she would get another class with Sasuke. Luckily for her, the period after lunch, she had Chemistry (the subject) with him. As she walked into the room, she saw Sasuke sitting all the way in back like usual, staring at her. She walked over hesitantly to the desk beside him.

"So you promised that I could sit by you."

"I didn't promise."

"Oh." Sakura frowned and turned to walk away but Sasuke grabbed the strap of her messenger bag and pulled her down to the seat next to him.

"I said I'd let you."

"Oh yah. Heh. Thanks." Sakura grinned. Sasuke rolled his eyes and took out his I-pod, shuffling through it for a song to listen to. Sakura watched in awe.

"I wish I had an I-pod. But my parents won't buy me one."

"Hn."

"So when'd you get yours?"

"Last year."

"What kind is it?"

"A nano."

"Is that expensive?"

"I guess."

"How much is it?"

"I forget."

"Do you carry it with you everywhere?"

"Yep."

"How many songs does it hold?" Sasuke looked up from his search and gave a cold glare at Sakura.

"Stop asking me dumb questions."

"Sorry." Sakura sweat dropped and Sasuke returned to looking for a song to listen. Just then Ino walked into the classroom. She went to sit at an empty desk near the window when she noticed Sakura sitting next to Sasuke. Ino walked up to Sakura and cleared her throat.

"Ahem. Sakura, What do you think you're doing?" Alarmed, Sakura lifted her face to see Ino staring indignantly at her.

"I'm sitting down?"

"Why?"

"Because that's what you do when you're in a desk."

"No I mean why are you sitting," Ino looked venomously at Sasuke, "with _him._"

"I'm allowed to sit wherever I want to."

"Yah wherever there's NOT a geek."

"Just go away Ino. I don't care."

"You will when your reputation is ruined." Ino hissed as she walked away. Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to face Sasuke.

"She's retarded."

"She's right."

"Huh?"

"Why do you like sitting next to me?" Sasuke stared intently into Sakura's emerald eyes. She blinked a few times before answering.

"I just.. I think you're interesting." Sasuke scoffed at her reply.

"You're wasting your time."

"How?"

"Just go sit by your popular friends and leave me alone."

"But you let me sit by you?"

"I changed my mind." Sasuke closed his eyes resentfully. He was clearly annoyed about Ino calling him a geek. Not like he hasn't heard that before but it irritated him so much. He hated labels and everything about the whole social class. Why did it matter? It was pointless. Sakura opened her mouth to object but no words came out. Instead she sadly glanced at Sasuke before getting up to sit by Ino. He opened one of his eyes and watched Sakura glumly sit next to Ino. Sakura glimpsed at Sasuke and he immediately shut his eye. He pulled his beanie down to cover his eyes and succeeded in avoiding Sakura's glances. The teacher walked in and smiled brightly at the students.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to Chemistry class. I'm your teacher, and my name is-" Someone knocked on the door and interrupted the teacher from finishing. He opened the door and Shikamaru walked in indolently.

"Hey look it's the chess freak!" Ino exclaimed. Shikamaru ignored the rude comment and gave the teacher a late pass.

"How about you sit next to the young man in the.. hat?" The teacher insisted. Shikamaru walked to the desk where Sakura once sat and grunted as if asking permission to sit there. Sasuke with the beanie still covering his eyes, nodded. Shikamaru sat down idly and crossed his arms.

"School is so troublesome."

"Hn."

"That Ino girl is pretty troublesome."

"She's a bitch." Sasuke replied blatantly. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

"Girls these days."

"Yah." Sasuke tried to drown out everything the rest of the class period. He wasn't in the mood. Well he barely ever was but right now he was pretty pissed. Sasuke thought about how different it would be if he weren't at the bottom of the social pyramid. Maybe school wouldn't be as shitty as it was. Then his thoughts strayed to Sakura. She was the only one this whole school day, that tried talking to him. Even the teachers disregarded Sasuke. He wanted to be friends with Sakura but she was friends with Ino which equaled trouble. He didn't want to ruin anything for her just because he decided to accept her as a friend. And like I said before, Sasuke didn't let just anyone be his friend. So it was extremely odd having Sasuke just _consider_ of having Sakura be his friend. _What the hell am I thinking? Why would I want her to be my friend? She's weird._ But somehow a little voice in his head was telling him that he should just let Sakura be his friend. And though Sasuke didn't realize at the moment, he made a life-changing decision. Okay barely, but it was a decision that would change everything from here on out.

* * *

**Sorry if that was a boring chapter to anyone. Don't worry; it will get exciting later on. Patience is a virtue lol. And if anyone noticed, there was a bit of foreshadowing in there. Also sorry if any character (mostly Sasuke) seems OOC. I'm trying! Heh. Well anyway, please review! I would greatly appreciate it.**


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews! Sorry it took me a while to update. School started for me. Bleh. Anyway here's chapter 3!

**Disclaimer: **No. I don't own Naruto. If I did, I'd be rich.

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

Sakura was getting into her car (**A/N:** I'm not good with cars, let's say it's an expensive one lol) and stuck the key into the ignition. She rolled down the windows and put in a cd to listen to. She drove out of the school parking lot and noticed Sasuke walking. _Who walks home these days?_ Deciding to be nice, she drove slowly next to the sidewalk Sasuke was walking on and honked her horn. Sasuke, who wasn't paying attention, jumped (only slightly) in surprise. Regaining his composure, he took down his headphones and glared at Sakura.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Need a ride?"

"No."

"Come on, it's always lonely when I drive home. Keep me company?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"What about your friends? Don't they need a ride?"

"They have their own cars. Just get in, I don't mind taking you home."

"I do." Sasuke put on his headphones and started walking again. Sakura just kept following him. To annoy him even more, she honked her horn plentiful times before Sasuke replied.

"Will you **stop** that?"

"You can't get rid of me that easily." Sakura smiled sheepishly. Sasuke smirked and walked towards the passenger door.

"I'll find a way."

"Whatever," Sakura stuck her tongue out. "Just get in already."

Sasuke opened the passenger door and slid onto the seat. He eyed the interior of the car and turned to Sakura.

"So how is it that you can afford this car, yet your parents won't buy you a measly I-pod?"

"I dunno. I didn't even want a car but they insisted on buying one. How about you?"

"What about me?"

"How come you don't have a car?"

"I don't want one."

"Why?"

"I like walking."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not lazy."

"Why?"

"Shut up."

"Why?" Sakura smiled jokingly. Sasuke glared at her before turning his head towards the window. He took off his beanie and let the wind flow through his ebony hair. Sakura took notice of this and was amazed at how someone with that kind of hair could ever want to hide it. She blushed when Sasuke turned his head and looked at her.

"What?"

"I-uh nothing." Sakura quickly faced the road ahead of her and concentrated on driving.

"Hn."

"Where do you live?"

"Just turn right on the next stoplight and keep going straight after that."

"Alright." An awkward silence came. Sasuke gazed out the window. He always dreamed about being in a car alone with a girl just he didn't think that it'd be like this. Especially since instead, the girl was driving and this girl just happened to be the annoying Sakura. Sasuke slowly turned his head to observe Sakura's features. Her cropped hair gleamed bright pink when the sun hit it. Her eyes, concentrating on the road, shined emerald. Her body was pretty slim. In fact, she was perfect. _She's really hot. _Sasuke mentally kicked himself when that thought crossed his mind. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura could see Sasuke staring at her. She blushed but didn't bother to turn her head. Sasuke noticed Sakura's cheeks reddening and smirked.

"What're you blushing for?"

"N-nothing. I'm not b-blushing" Sakura replied with a blush apparent on her face.

"Really."

"Y-yah." An idea popped into Sasuke's head and he decided to mess with Sakura.

"You know what I think?"

"W-what's that?"

"You're really pretty." Sasuke smirked as he saw Sakura's face reddening even more.

"I. Er uh t-thank you."

"Your face is really red."

"Uhmm…"

"Reminds me of tomatoes."

"Yah. S-sure."

"I like tomatoes."

"T-that's nice."

"Your hair reminds me of cotton candy."

"Uh. Sasuke w-which house is y-yours?" Sakura tried helplessly to change the subject. She was getting uncomfortable. Not to mention she was stuttering a lot, which she never had before.

"You look so good I could eat you."

"W-wow. Uhm r-really Sasuke you need t-to tell me which house."

"Or I could kiss you instead." The tires screeched on the pavement as Sakura stopped the car abruptly.

"W-what?" She turned and faced Sasuke with a bewildered expression.

"You fell for it." He replied with a smirk on his face.

"What're you talking about!"

"Do you really think I would seriously say those things to you?"

"I. Uh. No. I dunno. Why did you?"

"I thought it'd be funny. Why? Did you think I meant them?" Sasuke said with a more efficient smirk.

"Oh yah. It was hilarious." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"So yes you thought I was serious?"

"N-no." Sakura answered with a flustered face. Truthfully, she did think he was serious and she wouldn't have minded if he was.. but in hell would she admit that.

"Let's just say that was revenge from deafening me earlier."

"You're mean."

"Hn."

"Where's your house?"

"Four houses down, on the left." Sakura drove up to the driveway and unlocked the doors. Sasuke put the beanie back on his head and opened the door. He casually turned his head and smirked.

"Thanks for the ride tomato face."

"Shut up. Bye." Sasuke walked out of the car and towards his house. When he walked in, Sakura drove away and started for her house not realizing there was somebody watching them.

* * *

The next day at school, Sakura drove her car to the school parking lot. She parked it and got out. As she walked towards the school, Ino ran up to her.

"What were you doing after school yesterday?"

"Nothing?"

"You did something."

"Well I took Sasuke ho-"

"You WHAT?"

"I drove Sasuke home. What's wrong with that?"

"Are you sure that's all you did?" Ino eyed Sakura carefully.

"Yah then I went home. Why?" Sakura returned the same look.

"Because.. some people called me and told me.. you guys did.. stuff."

"But we didn't."

"Well go tell that to the whole school."

"Why?"

"Heh well…" Ino smiled nervously.

"Ino!"

"Everybody thinks you and Sasuke had sex!" Ino blurted out. Sakura's face turned from curiousness to anger.

"WHAT? WHY THE HELL WOULD THEY THINK THAT?"

"I dunno! Don't blame me, I'm just the messenger."

"And who was the person that told you?"

"I'm not obliged to tell you that." Ino replied. Sakura laughed sarcastically and gave a 'go to hell' smile.

"Fine. I'll just tell the whole school about you and Shika-"

"KIN TOLD ME!"

"That little… Why would she do that?"

"Sakura you know she's jealous of you. Of course she's going to do everything to ruin your reputation. And since Sasuke's the biggest loser in school, she's going to make something up when she sees you two together. I warned you!"

"Yah thanks for covering for me too."

"Huh?"

"You could've told Kin that I DIDN'T have sex with him because I DIDN'T! Instead of telling the whole school."

"I didn't tell the whole school." Sakura gave Ino a look and Ino sighed.

"Okay I did but I swear it was only because I love you."

"Right." Sakura rolled her eyes and marched towards the school doors. When she walked in, everybody stared at her and not of admiration either. There were a few whispers here and there as Sakura walked to her locker. Someone threw a paper airplane and it landed in her locker. She opened it and it read; "**HEY LOSER.**" _That was dumb_. Sakura thought to herself. She got her books and shut her locker close. When she was walking to first period, a guy she didn't know walked up to her.

"Hey babe. I'll forgive you for having sex with that loser but you have to repay me by going on a date with me."

"Yah in your dreams."

"Oh trust me you're in them." The boy winked at Sakura. Her face contorted in disgust.

"Gross. Thanks for the notice." Sakura replied sarcastically. Then she walked into Kakashi's classroom. Luckily nobody was looking at her funny but that was because most of the students put their attention on Sasuke. As Sakura inched closer to Sasuke's desk, she could hear people asking him questions. A random guy walked up to Sasuke's desk and smirked.

"So how was it?" Sasuke looked up from his I-pod and gave no expression but replied.

"How was what?"

"How was the sex? With," The guy looked around until he met his eyes with Sakura's, "With her." Sakura gasped and stalked over to the guy.

"We did not have sex! Sasuke, back me up here."

"Hn."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Hn."

"You're no help!" Sakura glared at Sasuke and left to go sit at a desk near where Naruto, Neji, Tenten, and Ino were sitting. Naruto gave Sakura a look of sympathy.

"If I could hit a girl, I'd beat up Kin." Sakura gave a small smile.

"It's okay Naruto. I'm fine, I don't care about my reputation."

"Sure you don't." Ino muttered. Sakura glared and Ino smiled.

"I was just agreeing!"

"You're no help either." Sakura said with her arms crossed.

"I'm going to have a talk with Sasuke." Naruto said as he got up from his desk.

"Ew. Why does everyone suddenly want to talk to Sasuke now?" Ino inquired. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"You have no respect for anyone."

"Whatever." Ino replied. Meanwhile, Naruto went over to where Sasuke was sitting.

"Hey."

"It's school hours."

"Well, I just wanted to know why you aren't helping out Sakura."

"What're you talking about?"

"You're not denyingyou both had sex. When you should, even _if _you guys.. did."

"We didn't."

"Don't tell me that, tell everyone else."

"Why does it matter?"

"I care about Sakura and I don't want her reputation ruined because my best friend's dumb and doesn't know how to deny things."

"Best friend huh?"

"Don't start."

"Hn."

"By saying that, people think you're confirming the rumors."

"Whatever. I'll tell them the truth. Just leave me alone."

"Fine." Naruto stalked off back towards the rest of the group and sat down in his seat. Sasuke put his head down on his desk and tried ignoring all the people asking him questions.

* * *

**Yes another somewhat short chapter. I'm sorry! I need my mojo back lol Well hopefully the next time I update won't be long from now. Please review! Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 4

So I lied and took forever to update. Sorry! School is really the blame for everything lol. Well read and hopefully enjoy! There's a surprise at the bottom ;)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. That's only a dream I had a while ago.

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

Kakashi walked into the classroom and all the class settled down. Everyone that was around Sasuke's desk walked back to his or her own seat. Kakashi eyed Sasuke, aware of the rumor Kin started. _I wonder if it's true. It'd definitely be odd if the Haruno girl and Uchiha.. did **it**. They're really too young to be doing that. Kids these days. _Kakashi shook his head in dissent. Then he droned on about history and what not while the majority of the class fell asleep. After the period ended, Sasuke walked towards his locker. As he opened it, a bunch of notes flew out.  
"What the hell?" Sasuke picked a note off the floor and read it aloud; "**BETTER NOT TRY ANYTHING WITH SAKURA AGAIN, YOU PERVERTED HOMOSEXUAL!**" Sasuke glared at the note and crumpled it up. He tore it to shreds and brushed away all the other notes in his locker. Then he took out his books and walked to 2nd period. Like usual, he sat in the back of the class and just when he was about to take out his I-pod, a random girl appeared at his desk.

"So is it true?" The girl asked.

"Is **what** true?" Sasuke asked irritated. Somehow, he figured it had to be about the rumor.

"That you and Sakura had sex?" And Sasuke was right.

"No. We didn't, now get away." Sasuke took his I-pod out and was about to put the headphones on when he noticed the girl was still standing there. He glared at her but she didn't budge. Instead she leaned in closer and tried whispering in his ear.

"I also heard you and Sakura were secretly dating. Is that true?" The girl watched Sasuke as he refrained from beating the girl up.

"No, that's not true either. Now could you PLEASE step away from my desk and leave me the _hell_ alone?" The girl hesitantly smiled and apologized as she ran towards the front of the classroom. Sasuke returned to his I-pod and stuck the headphones on. He closed his eyes when Sakura appeared at his desk.

"Hey. Thanks for uhm.. telling the truth." Sakura said as she sat in the desk beside Sasuke. Sasuke opened his eyes in annoyance and glowered at Sakura.

"Hn."

"At first I thought that's what you would've said to the girl, but I'm glad you actually answered in full sentences." Sakura smiled weakly.

"Mhmm." Sasuke stared fixedly at his I-pod.

"So now that _that's_ over with, What's up?"

"The ceiling." Sasuke replied nonchalantly. Sakura giggled at his sarcasm.

"Well that's not what I meant but atleast that's two words this time."

"Yep."

"Aw come on. Just when we were improving."

"Could you shut up? How's that for improvement."

"That's 8 words. Lots of improvement buddy." Sakura grinned.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked. _Well atleast she's not mad at me anymore._

"So this morning I got this dumb note and it said, '**HEY LOSER**.' Our high school is full of immature idiots. Don't you think?" Sasuke turned his head in question.

"You got notes in your locker too?"

"Yah. Probably about a billion and they all had to do with that dumb rumor Kin started." Sakura glared at the chalkboard as she said Kin's name. Sasuke turned his head in question.

"Kin? Who the hell is that?"

"The girl who started the rumor. She's so stuck up. But nobody likes her."

"I wonder why." Sasuke replied sarcastically.

"That's not the only thing she's done. One time last year, she tried cutting my hair while I wasn't paying attention. Well she only got half of my hair so I had to cut it. Which is why my hair's short now. But I like it anyway, I guess."

"Aa."

"Yah sorry. I know you probably don't want to listen to me babble."

"You're right. I don't."

"Well tell me about you? We never really had a decent conversation." Sakura looked at Sasuke and smiled doubtfully. He glanced at Sakura and smirked.

"I wonder why." Sakura's smile slowly descended into a scowl.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're annoying."

"Thanks.." _So much for improvement._

"Your welcome." Sasuke replied.

"Stop with your sarcasm! You know, sometimes what you say hurts."

"Hn."

"Fine. I see you don't care. I'll stop talking."

"That's fine with me."

"You're an ass."

"I don't like to repeat myself."

"Good. I didn't want to hear you anyway." Sakura turned to face the front and crossed her arms. Sasuke just closed his eyes and went back to listening to his I-pod. The teacher stood up from her desk and began the class. Just like Kakashi's class, it was super boring. Sakura being bored easily, ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook. She scribbled on it, folded it, and nudged Sasuke with the note. Sasuke reluctantly opened his eyes and eyed the piece of paper near his elbow. He glanced towards Sakura and she smiled. He rolled his eyes and grabbed the note. _She's bipolar or something._ He opened it and it read; "**This class is so boring. Why we do get all the boring teachers?**" Sasuke folded it back up and left it at the edge of the desk. Sakura nudged Sasuke and he turned to glare at her. She motioned to write back. Sasuke being annoyed easily, glared and shook his head no. Sakura grabbed the piece of paper from his desk and scribbled on it furiously. She threw it at Sasuke and it hit his arm. He closed his eyes churlishly before opening them. He grabbed the note and opened it; "**You're a jerk.**" Sasuke tossed the note back to Sakura, which hit her on her forehead. He smirked. Sakura glared at Sasuke before she once again, scribbled more on the note and was about to aim it at Sasuke's face when the teacher called on both of their names.

"Sakura. Sasuke. Please come to the front of the class." Sakura nervously put her hand with the note down and stood up. Sasuke refrained and sat in his desk pretending he didn't hear the teacher. Sakura glanced at Sasuke and hit him in the head while walking up to the front. Sasuke roughly got up from his desk and fixedly gave cold stares at the teacher and the back of Sakura.

"So Sakura. How about you and Sasuke explain to the class why you both were disrupting our learning environment." Sakura looked around the class and smiled.

"Uhm. How about have Sasuke explain that one?" Sakura turned to face the Uchiha and smirked. The teacher nodded her head in agreement and turned to face Sasuke also. Sasuke stood there silently.

"Sasuke, are you going to explain yours and Sakura's antics?" Sasuke did not reply.

"Well I guess Sasuke can't explain either. So how about both of you explain to me later. After school. In detention." The teacher spat out angrily. Sakura sighed inwardly and Sasuke just walked back to his seat. Sakura followed and when she reached her seat she turned to face Sasuke.

"Thanks for getting us detention!"

"Your welcome."

"Stop saying that."

"You're the one that's thanking me."

"I've never gotten a detention before.. until now. And it's all your fault!"

"Hn. I don't care. That's not my problem."

"Aren't you mad that we got detention?"

"No. This isn't my first."

"Well that's nice. Geez. Now what am I going to tell my parents?"

"That you got detention."

"Yah thanks Captain Obvious."

"Your-"

"Don't even finish." Sakura put her face in her hands and groaned quietly. Sasuke smirked. _Finally she shut up._

_

* * *

_

Finally it was lunchtime and Sasuke grabbed his lunch out of his locker and walked into the cafeteria. He searched for his usual spot and found it empty today. He walked towards it but somehow his feet guided him outside instead. He located the bench that he sat with Sakura yesterday and sat down on it. He opened his lunch and took out a sandwich. As he took a bite out of it slowly, he saw Sakura waving while walking to him.

"Hey! Didn't expect to find you here."

"Neither did I." Sakura gave a confused look but Sasuke just took another bite out of his sandwich.

"Uhm. Well anyway, how're you today?"

"The same as I was the last time you saw me. About two hours ago."

"Oh yah heh." Sakura nervously laughed. _Why is it so damn hard to start conversation with this kid? Errgh._

"Soo. What're you doing this weekend?"

"Anything that doesn't concern you."

"Right... Well what do you mean when you say anything?"

"I don't know."

"And how come it's anything that doesn't concern me? What's so wrong about me that would make you infer that you shouldn't hang out with me?"

"Hn."

"What? Too scared to tell it to my face?"

"No."

"Then tell me your reasoning."

"I've got plans."

"Like what kind of plans?"

"I don't know." Sasuke was clearly getting agitated by Sakura's questioning.

"Why don't you know?"

"You like to torture me don't you?"

"No. I'm being serious here. I'm trying to start up conversation and I know I've been pretty moody today but you won't even bother telling me why you don't like me!" Sakura yelled out.

"I never said I didn't like you." Sasuke replied calmly. Sakura blushed before replying.

"Well… you're making it seem like that. So I just assumed."

"Your assumptions were obviously wrong."

"… That still doesn't answer my question."

"You asked many, how am I supposed to know which question you're referring to?"

"What's so wrong about me.. that would make you not want to.. well hang out with me?"

"Nothing."

"Oh. Well I got worked up over nothing then?"

"Hn."

"Yah.." Sakura pulled out a bag of chips from her purse. She stared at the ground and started munching on them silently. Sasuke for some reason, felt bad. _What the hell._ He sighed before responding.

"I would." Sakura looked up from the ground and gave a questioned look.

"You would what?"

"I would.. hang out with you."

"Oh." Sakura gave a small smile.

"Well I wouldn't mind hanging out with you either."

"Aa."

"Sasuke?"

"Hmm." Sasuke finished eating his sandwich and faced Sakura.

"Would you.. like to hang out this weekend? With.. me?" Sakura's cheeks were turning red as she waited for his reply.

"Uh." Sasuke wasn't sure what to say. _No one's ever asked me to hang out before. Maybe I should say yes? Would there be a risk to saying yes?_ Meanwhile Sakura searched Sasuke's face to see what his reaction would be. On the outside he didn't look like he was contemplating about it. He looked the same but on the inside Sasuke was debating whether or not he should even answer. _But walking away without saying anything would be rude. I'm not that mean. Just say no. It's not that hard. SAY NO!_

"I guess." Sasuke said slowly. Clearly his actions today were not going the way he wanted them to. Sakura's eyes gleamed with happiness.

"Great! What do you want to do?"

"Whatever."

"We could go to the mall. Or no! There's a carnival this weekend. Oh no never mind, that passed. Hmm. Well you could come over and we could watch movies? Unless you'd like to do that at your house if you prefer?"

"NO!"

"Uhm.."

"I mean, your house it is."

"Okay." Sakura smiled and got up.

"Well I'm going to go. Meet you in Chemistry." Sakura waved and walked back inside the cafeteria.

"Yah." Sasuke replied to no one. _What the hell is wrong with me?_

_

* * *

_

Sasuke walked into the next period class and found Sakura sitting in the desk next to his. As he walked towards his seat, he could feel Ino's glares on his back. He decided to ignore it and sat in his desk silently.

"So why haven't you taken your I-pod out yet?" Sakura asked. Sasuke merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm surprised. I would've thought you would by now."

"Hn." The reason Sasuke didn't take out his I-pod was because he was still debating with himself. _Have I reached insanity? Why would I say yes? That means I would just have to endure more of her non-stop questioning and babbling. It wouldn't be **that** rude to tell her I changed my mind, would it?_

"Sasuke!" Sakura snapped her fingers in front of Sasuke's face. Sasuke immediately stopped his bickering in his mind and stared at the hand that was in front of his face.

"What?" Sasuke said churlishly.

"Er. Sorry to disturb you but could I borrow a pencil?"

"Yah." Sasuke took a pencil out of his pocket and handed it to her. As he did, his hand brushed hers and he noticed how _smooth_ Sakura's hand felt. He gazed at her hand now resting upon the desk. Suddenly he had the temptation to hold it but he resisted so. His eyes moved from her hand and up her arm and then he noticed the pink locks barely touching the top of her shoulder. Sakura's hair seemed so shiny. It looked so nice and _silky_. Sasuke wondered if it felt that way too and somehow his hand had found itself brushing through Sakura's hair. Sakura jumped from the sudden contact and Sasuke quickly moved his hand away. He closed his eyes in embarrassment and his cheeks were forming a light red color. Sakura had also started blushing and moved her closed fist to rest upon her lips. She couldn't help but smile. Sasuke on the other hand tensed and avoided glancing at Sakura the rest of the class period. Although inside, he was satisfied. _Atleast I know her hair feels as silky as it looks._

_

* * *

_

**Okay so I finally updated! I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I typed this all but I hope you enjoyed it anyway xD. Oh and I also drew a picture for this chapter (that was supposed to be the surprise which I mentioned at the beginning). It really sucks though because first, I drew it around the same time I finished typing this chapter which was around 11:30 at night so I pretty much rushed it so I could upload all this and what not. And second, I can't draw for shitake mushrooms lol but it's just a taste of what they look like. Although I took more time on Sasuke then Sakura so Sakura kind of looks like she's on crack hehe. But Sasuke doesn't look so great either.. You'll just have to see by clicking the link in my profile!  
But remember, don't laugh at my lack of artistic talents :P  
Anyway, please review! I would appreciate it dearly.**


	5. Chapter 5

Alright! So I tried to update before Christmas but obviously that didn't work quite so well since it's already June oO. Anyway, this is probably the longest chapter I've written so far. So you better enjoy it! lol. Well, Happy reading :D (for those who are still in fact, reading this.) And huzzah for summer, finally!

**Disclaimer:** Sheesh. If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't even be writing this crap.

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

The week passed by quickly and mostly everyone forgot (well nearly) about the rumor Kin started. Sakura was at her happiest state and Sasuke was.. being himself. Although the past few days, he had been a _little_ nicer to Sakura. It was only a minor difference, not like he could tell. Sakura however, could and it was the sole purpose that had her stay up late at night. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of relationship (if you could call it one) she had with Sasuke. Were they really friends? They sure as hell weren't anything more but it's not like they were any less either. Sakura, deciding it was useless trying to figure out, immediately fell asleep.

The next morning, it was already Friday. Sakura woke up feeling a bit more cheerful. She didn't know why though. Maybe it was because she got more sleep than usual. Or maybe it was because today would be the day when Sasuke came over to hang out. She was overjoyed and got ready faster than usual. And when she drove to school, she walked into first period waiting to see Sasuke. But when the school bell rang signaling the start of class, Sakura was surprised Sasuke had not arrived yet. _Maybe he just woke up late. _But as the class had continued, there was no sign of Sasuke. In fact, the whole day Sasuke hadn't showed up in any of the classes he had with Sakura. And finally in Chemistry, Sakura looked over to Ino and whispered in her ear.

"Do you know where Sasuke's at?"

"Ugh. No. Why would I know where that loser would be?"

"I was just wondering. Sorry."

"Just pay attention." Ino looked to the front of the class and Sakura followed suit. She was starting to get worried and once school was over, she sullenly walked to her car wondering where the hell Sasuke could be.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was laying on his bed bored, listening to that damned I-pod like always. _Maybe I should've gone to school today._ Tiredly, he got up from his bed and walked over to the window. He watched as some kids from school were walking home, talking and laughing about their plans for the weekend. Then he frowned as he saw someone with bright blonde hair and blue eyes walk towards his house. He immediately shut his curtains hoping that would shield him from having to talk to anyone but to no avail, there was a knock. Sasuke stood there quietly, waiting.

"Sasuke, open up! I know you're home!" Naruto knocked furiously at the mahogany door of Sasuke's house. Sasuke grunted before walking down the flight of stairs to the front door and opened it.  
"What?"

"Why didn't you go to school today?"

"I'm sick." Sasuke said with no hint of sickness evident in his voice. Naruto eyed him suspiciously.  
"You don't look or sound sick to me. Actually, you look perfectly healthy."

"Hn."  
"Come on Sasuke, what's the real reason?"

"Just tell me what you're doing here." Sasuke said angrily.

"I came to check if you were okay." Naruto grinned.

"Repeat that except this time, give me a legit excuse."

"No that is the reason! And well.. Sakura was worried also."  
"I'm fine. Now leave." Sasuke attempted to close the door but Naruto jumped inside the house.  
"Okay now it's your turn to explain." Naruto smirked.

"Explain what?"

"Why you didn't go to school! DER."

"I just didn't feel like it. Is that too hard for you to comprehend?"

"No, but I think there's more to it than that."

"Really now."

"I think you were just afraid!" At this, Naruto could see the confusion and annoyance in Sasuke's eyes.

"And what exactly would I be afraid of that would make me not want to go to school?"

"Haruno Sakura." Naruto stated knowingly. Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair before sighing in irritation.

"What does she have to do with anything?"

"You had a date with her today and you chickened out!"

"Okay bye." Sasuke walked up the stairs and towards his room, locking the door along with. Naruto shook his head and ran towards the Uchiha's room. He tried opening it but obviously it was locked.

"Sasuke, I don't get what you're trying to run away from."

"I'm not running away from anything. You're just annoying the hell out of me."

"Why? Because you can't face the truth?" Naruto chuckled. Sasuke opened the door and glared icily at the blonde.

"There's nothing to face. I do not like Sakura, and I was not chickening out on anything." Naruto started to laugh even more.

"Who said anything about you liking Sakura? All I said was you chickened out on a date but now I see you really DID chicken out and that you actually LIKE Sakura!"

"No. I do not." Sasuke said apprehensively. Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and began walking away.

"Doesn't matter. It's your loss. And to think Sakura liked you." Naruto smirked back at Sasuke and watched as he momentarily widened his eyes in disbelief.

"No offence or anything, but you're not too great."

"That's a lie…" Sasuke said quietly.

"Eh, it's just my opinion. But I mean, if you think you're great then go ahead and think that."

"That's not what I was referring to."

"Hey, look at the time. Gotta go!"

"Naruto, were you serious about Sakura?"

"Well I'm out!"

"Naruto. Get back here."

"See you around loser!" Naruto grinned before closing the door and walking outside.

"Naruto! You dumbass!" Sasuke yelled out to the empty corridors. Hastily, he put on his shoes and ran down the stairs to go chase after Naruto. He opened the door and ran outside, searching for Naruto but he wasn't anywhere in sight. He ran down the block and saw a blonde running while laughing and sprinted towards the person. He jumped and tackled the blonde. But when he did, he noticed that instead of a loudmouth blonde guy that he was on top of, he found a loudmouth blonde girl underneath. And that girl just happened to be Ino.

"EW! GROSS! GET OFF OF ME YOU FILTHY RASCAL!" Ino screamed out. Sasuke strained himself from punching her in the face and went to get up but a horn caught him by surprise and he stumbled back onto Ino. He turned to look towards the car and saw Sakura questioningly gaping at him.

"Ino! Sasuke? What.. are you two doing?" Sasuke looked confusedly before he realized that he was still on top of Ino and from someone else's point of view, it would have looked _wrong_. Ino snorted in disgust and tried pushing off Sasuke. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and got up not even bothering to offer a hand to help Ino up.

"This stupid GEEK ran into me. And he didn't even have the decency to apologize or anything." Ino got up and crossed her arms in defiance.

"Hn."

"You would just stand there and say nothing. Geek." Ino glared fiercely at Sasuke who in turn, glared back. Sakura stood there examining.

"Sasuke, you look.. perfect!"

"Uh. Thanks."

"No! No! I mean, you don't look sick at all!"

"Who said I was… sick." Sasuke said slowly. Sakura stared incredulously before getting out of the car and walking up towards Sasuke.

"You had me worried this whole time thinking you were sick, or hospitalized, or even DEAD! And then I see you gallivanting and tackling people around like a crazy lunatic looking perfectly healthy and stable! You didn't even bother to call or tell me that you weren't going to school today! Nor did you even think about how I would've felt for ditching our plans today! I saw Naruto; he told me what you said. If you really didn't want to hang out with me, you could've told me so. Instead you decided to play with my feelings and leave me in the dirt. Thanks a lot Sasuke! And don't even think about replying with a your welcome this time!" Sakura finished off with tears streaming down her face and ran to her car. Sasuke stood there and watched her put the car into gear and pull away from the curb. He stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Geez, Sasuke. You did a pretty shady thing." Ino said in a harshed tone.

"What's it to you." Sasuke replied bitterly.

"Sakura's my friend. And even though I dislike you _greatly_, I would rather have Sakura be happy because she's friends with you then have her be miserable because you made one stupid little mistake."

"Hn."

"I advise you go talk to her and apologize. She likes you, ya know." Ino declared. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"And how would you know?" He scoffed.

"Because I see it in her eyes every time she looks at you." With that said, Ino walked away leaving a taken aback Sasuke behind.

* * *

"Sakura, you should understand that he's not that type of guy."

"I know but ugh. You'd think he'd have SOME emotion."

"He's stupid and never shows his emotions. I know, but trust me. He's just as kungfood with this as you are!"

"Naruto, it's confused."

"I know you are."

"No I mean, confused."

"I know..? You just said that."

"Yes but what I meant was that the word is confused."

"The word?"

"Yes Naruto, the word."

"…."

"NARUTO, THE **WORD **IS _**CONFUSED**_!"

"Who's _The Word_?"

"I give up. You're as dumb as Sasuke is." Sakura heaved a deep sigh.

"Well whatever. The fact of the matter is, give him another chance. He's not as heartless as you think he is. He feels _something_ for you." Naruto said reassuringly. Sakura looked up at him with doubtful eyes.

"And how would you know?"

"Because I can read minds!" Naruto grinned.

"Really now? What am I thinking?"

"You're thinking Sasuke is a loser and that I should really go out with this other really nice, funny, smart guy instead -cough- me -cough-."

"Yes, Neji does seem like a good contender." Sakura uttered while sneering at Naruto.

"You can't go out with Neji!"

"And you can't read minds."

"Okay fine. But really, you know how I know?"

"How? And don't try telling me something stupid either."

"You have no faith in me." Naruto stuck out his tongue.

"Just get on with it!"

"Geez okay. I know because I see it in his eyes."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked, baffled.

"He doesn't look at you the way he looks at me or any other normal person. It's a different kind of look."

"What look is that?"

"I dunno? You expect me to know everything. Sheesh." Naruto peered outside Sakura's bedroom window.

"Well don't tell me something and not elaborate."

"I would if I knew what that meant."

"Well.. if he really had any feelings for me, I would need some proof." Sakura stated. Naruto turned to face Sakura and smiled.  
"Here's your proof."

"What are you-" Sakura glanced at the window where Naruto was currently pointing to. She saw the raven-haired in front of her door. He didn't ring the doorbell though. Instead, he just stood there.

"What the hell is he doing?" Sakura asked aloud.

"I'm not sure. It looks like he's.. staring at your door?"

"No, I don't think he's staring. I think he's _glaring_. Heatedly. At my door."

"Why would he do that?" Naruto scratched his head, puzzled. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Because he's stupid. ARGH! What is the point of him coming here if he's not going to do anything?"

"Hm.. maybe he's always done this and you never noticed. Maybe he's.." Naruto paused. Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"Maybe he's.. what Naruto? Maybe he's retarded? Maybe he's mad?"

"No, no."

"Then what? I mean there's no other possible explanation. Seriously. Well unless he's in love with me, which I doubt." Sakura glanced at Naruto who hadn't replied.

"Oh NO! That is **not** what you're saying, is it Naruto? Because that is absolutely absurd. I mean, why would he? I'm nothing special. I yelled at him earlier! He's probably angry with me for that. That could never happen. Plus that's just-"

"Uh Sakura." Naruto interrupted Sakura.

"What?!"

"I was going to say, maybe he's a stalker." He laughed as he saw her flustered face slowly turn red.

"I am going to KILL you. You could've stopped me. Anytime!"

"Heh, I know. Just you looked so cute getting all worked up over Sasuke."

"I was not getting worked up over Sasuke." Sakura crossed her arms and turned her head away.

"Oh yes you were. Come on, you were going crazy at the fact that maybe he'd be in love with you or whatever."

"Nuh-uh! I was just.. rambling. But in no way would I get worked up over that egotistical bastard."

"What egotistical bastard?" Sakura turned around to punch Naruto for being so dense but instead of seeing the blonde, she was met with Sasuke's impassive face.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you." He grunted.

"Okay… WAIT. How did you even get inside?"

"He probably knew a way after watching you so many times. Told you he's a stalker." Naruto sniggered.

"Shut up Naruto."

"Stalker?" Sasuke asked infuriated.

"No! No, Naruto is just being his dumb self like always."

"Hey, that was uncalled for."

"Anyway, uhm Sasuke. What do you need to talk to me about?" Sakura tried to see if his face held any emotion but to her discontent, his face stayed blank. Sasuke stood there without saying a word. On the outside, he seemed perfectly nonchalant but on the inside he was actually going crazy. It was hard enough for him to actually go to Sakura's house and approach her. Especially since for about 10 minutes, he contemplated even going there. Hence, why he was glaring fixedly at her front door. And he was just about to leave when Sakura's mother came out to go to work and had let him go inside. _Damn it. I should've gone home. I don't even know what to say._

"Sasuke? Hello?" Sakura waved her hand in front of his face trying to get his attention. After dazing off for a few more seconds, Sasuke realized he hadn't said anything. He noticed Sakura's waving hand in his face and involuntarily grabbed her hand to stop it. Sakura blushed at the direct contact of Sasuke's hand on hers. Naruto watched amusedly as they stood there momentarily, holding hands, just gazing at each other's face. Sakura was about to say something when Sasuke detected their hands still conjoined and let go immediately.

"Sasuke.."

"I wasn't avoiding you." He gushed out.

"I didn't think you were?"

"And also, I wasn't afraid."

"Afraid? What're you talking about?" Sakura's face was full of confusion. Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

"Never mind."

"No, tell me. What were you talking about?"

"Just, I wasn't afraid to hang out with you. That's all." Sakura giggled and set her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"It's okay. I know."

"Hn."

"Plus, why would I think you were afraid? It's not like you would be, your pride would be soiled." Sakura said jokingly. Naruto laughed at this and Sasuke gave them both a stern look.

"You thought it was a date."

"A date?"

"Ah."

"**I **thought it was a _date_?" Sakura said in exasperation. Sasuke merely nodded in response.

"No, no, no. I think you're confused."

"Actually, no I'm not." Sasuke confirmed.

"Yes you are, because I did NOT think it was a date."

"Hn. Right."

"I am right! I believe it was you that thought this was supposed to be a date."

"What?" Sasuke said, taken aback. Sakura smirked and began to continue.

"Yah, you were the one that assumed **I** thought it was. So obviously, you must have thought this a date."

"No."

"I think so."

"I think not."

"Sasuke, come on. Don't deny it. I won't care, swallow your pride and admit it!"

"Hn. I would never admit to something as incredulous as this." Sakura chortled.

"You're so unbelievable."

"And you're annoying." Sasuke turned away in irritation while Sakura stared at his back in shock. And Naruto was snickering away in the background. He watched as Sakura's face slowly distorted into anger. She took a hold of Sasuke's hair and pulled it back. The Uchiha was hauled into the nearest wall and almost stumbled to the ground before he caught himself and narrowed his eyes at Sakura in an intense and heated glare.

"That was **not** necessary." He seethed.

"Oh I think it was. You pompous, arrogant, narcissistic jerk!" Sakura yelled out furiously.

"Oooo. She got you there." Naruto said out of nowhere.

"You do realize Sakura, that those all mean the same damn thing." Sasuke stated.

"Shut up, I'm surprised you even knew what I meant!"

"I have a comprehending brain unlike you."

"Oh ho ho. Is that the best you got, chicken hair?"

"Yah is that the best you got?" Naruto chimed in. Sasuke closed his eyes in aggravation before countering back.

"I've got better things to do than argue with some deprived, obtuse, little girl."

"Woah, that was harsh!" Naruto whistled out.

"Are you calling me needy and stupid?" Sakura asked, appalled.

"Yah obviously."

"You-"

"I'm leaving." Sasuke said cutting short whatever Sakura was about to say. He walked towards her bedroom door and opened it. But before leaving, he turned to add one last remark.

"And your forehead is huge." He smirked as Sakura gawked at him in disbelief. And as he left, she jumped onto her bed and screamed into a pillow.

* * *

-Ring! Ring! Ring!-

There was a shuffled noise and covers being pulled up.

-Ring! Ring! Ring!-

A deep groan was heard.

-Ring! Ring! Ring-

Sasuke shot out of bed and grabbed the phone from his desk in haste.

"What?"

"Is this a bad time?" A sweet, innocent voice was heard on the other line. Sasuke grumbled quietly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up!" Nervous laughter was soon followed after.

"Hn."

"Listen, could you meet me at the promenade later? Around noonish?" There was silence.

"Sasuke?"

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when I see you! Say you'll be there?"

"..I guess."

"Great! See you then. Bye!" There was a soft click and then a long agonizing beep. Sasuke put away the phone and sat on his bed tiredly. It was 9 in the morning and he still felt like sleeping. And it didn't help that he felt like a thousand knives were stabbing his body at the moment. After he left Sakura's house last night, he went home and wasted the rest of his time working out like crazy. He got up and walked towards the bathroom. He'd feel better after taking a long, long shower.

At the promenade, Sasuke stood waiting while listening to his I-pod. He had his eyes closed and didn't notice a presence that appeared as he was standing there. He felt someone pull off the beanie he was wearing and viciously grabbed the person's hand still with his eyes closed.

"Sakura."

"Uh. What? No?"

"Hn."

"How'd you know it was me?" She asked skeptically.

"I just do." Sasuke let go of her hand much to Sakura's dismay.

"You're just that amazing, right Sasuke?" He opened his eyes and held a blank expression. Sakura rolled her eyes and poked him in the chest.

"What happened to your speech skills? You seemed to have a lot to say yesterday." Sakura said with sarcasm laced in her voice.

"Tch. What do you want?"

"Well I figured we'd hang out today! To make up for ya know, last night." Sakura gave a small smile before continuing.

"Plus, I had this brilliant idea." Her smile turned into a toothy grin. Sasuke raised a curious eyebrow.

"I want to give you a makeover!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly.

"No."

"Aw why not?"

"What is with the sudden change of mood?" Sasuke inquired, changing the subject.

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

"I thought you were mad."

"Oh that? I'm over it. Don't worry Sasuke, I'm not mad at you." Sakura smiled to assure him.

"I know that."

"Well then why would you assume it?"

"I didn't think you were mad _at me_." Sasuke answered placidly.

"Uhm. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because there's no reason to be."

"There definitely was. You were being an ass!"

"Sakura, don't start." The pink haired girl bit her lip to stop whatever insults were about to roll off her tongue. She breathed in heavily and blew out her frustrations. Then she plastered a smile on her face and took a hold of Sasuke's arm.

"We're going to go shopping." Sakura observed Sasuke's expression as his deadpan face slowly twisted into one of detest.

"No _we're_ not."

"Oh yes _we_ are."

"No way in hell." Sasuke declared.

"Too bad, you have no choice." Sakura pulled the Uchiha who was grudgingly trying to stay in place.

"You're not going to get me to move." He said knowingly.

"I did yesterday, remember? When you were pulled into my WALL?" Sasuke's eye twitched for a second before retorting back.

"That was **only** because I wasn't aware that you were going to."

"Okay Sasuke, whatever helps you sleep at night. We're still going shopping." Sakura demanded.

"No. I refuse."

"Come on! What could it hurt?"

"My pride."

"Your pride will get over it. Now _move_ your feet." Sakura snarled while still trying to pull him.

"Sakura, stop. You look stupid trying."

"Why don't you stop being difficult and just come with me?"

"I don't want to."

"It's not as horrible as you think it is." Sakura urged.

"Hn. That's what I thought of you and now look where it got me." Sasuke mumbled.

"Excuse me? You better stop while you're at it."

"Sakura. Let go of me." She stood there contemplating before letting go.

"You know what? Fine. Don't go shopping with me. See if I care."

"Bye." Sasuke turned to walk away.

"No!" Sakura cried out and grabbed a hold of his arm again. Sasuke quizzically looked at her.

"You just said-"

"Forget what I just said. Please Sasuke! I am BEGGING you to come with me! Please! Please! **Please!**" Sakura pleaded. Sasuke stared at her as if she was crazy.

"You are so needy."

"I never said I wasn't."

"You're strange."

"Yes, I know. So will you go shopping with me?"

"I'm going to hit myself for this later." Sasuke sighed before letting an ecstatic Sakura pull him away to the vast wonders of the mall.

* * *

**I never realized how much dialogue I put into this.. Anyway, hope you liked it! Sorry if it seems rushed, I was really tired and I just wanted to finish the darn chapter hah. And sorry for such a long wait, I apologize deeply. For the next update, Sasuke will have a totally new image! And he will feel the wrath of fan girls. Now that it's summer, I'm hoping I'll be able to update faster. Well reviews would be nice :).**

**P.S. I changed the story title -yah it's a stupid title lol-. It used to be Change of Hearts but I found a story with a similar name so I didn't want anyone confused.**


	6. Chapter 6

I've been slow on the updates.. I'M SORRY! Anyway, on to chapter 6! I tried to have more interactions with the other characters this time so it wouldn't be mainly just Sasuke+Sakura interacting.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, kapeesh?

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

"This looks PERFECT on you!" Sakura said excitedly as she admired Sasuke from the dressing rooms. Sasuke, on the other hand, felt like punching Sakura in the face. (As horrible as that sounded, he would never actually do it.) Three consecutive hours in the mall and they were **still** not done, well according to Sakura atleast. As soon as they had arrived, Sasuke wanted to leave. But to his dismay, Sakura had dragged him into about a billion stores and made him try just about everything in them. And unsurprisingly, each and every one of the outfits he tried on, he disliked. But being the persistent girl she was, Sakura had managed to find even more clothes for the Uchiha to try on.

"I don't like it." Sasuke grimly replied. Sakura gave him a look of disdain before handing him more clothes.

"Try these on then," She shoved him into the nearest dressing room and pointed a finger at his face, "And don't tell me you don't like it because that's what you say about everything." Sasuke was just about to close the door when Sakura stopped him.

"And take off your glasses and that damned beanie!" She stood there as he huffed in aggravation and closed the door. Sakura waited patiently for him to finish putting on the other clothes when someone had accidentally pushed her. Sakura stumbled towards the nearest wall but did not fall. She quickly straightened her composure and was about to badmouth whoever had pushed her but she looked up to see a smiling Tenten.

"Sakura! Hey, how're you?" Tenten greeted her happily. Sakura hugged Tenten before replying back.

"I'm doing fine! Just fine. What about you?"

"Oh me, I'm good. Just thought I should go on a shopping spree. Yes, I know. Surprising eh? But I figured, to heck with it! And so I came here!"

"Ohhhhh okay. So what'd Neji do this time?" Sakura asked with a sly grin on her face. Tenten sweat dropped and scratched her head innocently.

"It's that obvious?"

"Yah pretty much. So really, what happened between you guys?" Tenten sighed and sat down in a chair.

"Got into an argument. The usual. Ugh, he puts so much stress on me sometimes. I swear, I'm getting more gray hairs than my grandma." Sakura laughed at this and patted Tenten on the back.

"Aww, it's alright. You guys will get over it and forgive each other and make hot passionate love. I know how the drill goes." Sakura grinned cheekily as Tenten's face paled. Tenten quickly recovered and huffed in response. Sakura was about to badger her friend more about Neji but a brooding Sasuke came through the doors of the dressing room with a frown upon his face. He was wearing the clothes that Sakura had handed to him and he went to present his great dislike for the clothes to her, not realizing a surprised Tenten watching.

"Sakura, this is beyond pointless." His glasses were shoved somewhere inside a pocket and his beanie was gripped in his hands. His eyes were clearly visible, mystified onyx orbs that held a certain glint to them. His hair was unruly but it made him all the more gorgeous. Tenten widened her eyes before realization struck.

"Uchiha? Uchiha Sasuke?" She said with uncertainty. She blinked a few times making sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Sasuke glanced down into the shocked face of Tenten. He snorted in annoyance. Sakura who just now noticed the Uchiha, held a confused but satisfied expression. She never realized how incredibly amazing Sasuke could look with just a little change. He looked a lot better with the clothes he had on now then with his normal clothes. Tenten inspected Sasuke's clothes curiously. He was wearing baggy yet fitted, straight, and dark blue jeans that seemed worn out. He was also wearing a white t-shirt underneath a gray lightweight hoodie accompanied by a gray suit jacket. His shoes were sporty but stylish black and white trainers. He actually looked normal and less 'nerdy' like. In fact, Tenten's eyes crinkled in amusement as she thought of how _classy_ and _spiffy_ he looked. All he needed was some stunner shades and the whole outfit would be complete. Sakura grinned in pride. She walked towards Sasuke and clasped a hand on his shoulder.

"Sasuke, you look _amazing_," She bobbed her head up and down, observing him, "And it's all because of me! Oh praise me and my wonderful work!" Sasuke glared at the pink haired girl.

"And you call me egotistical?" He muttered under his breath. Tenten walked towards Sasuke and Sakura and also placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Wait til the school gets a load of this." Tenten said with a smirk. Sasuke walked away from the two girls and placed his beanie on his head furtively.

"No one is going to get a load of anything. I am **not** going to school like this." He looked himself in the mirror and grunted in displeasure.

"Especially in this outfit. I look like a rich, snobby, preppy jerk off."

"But it'll make the girls go wild!" Tenten winked suggestively.

"And you fill in two of the above mentioned. So it all works out in the end." Sakura added teasingly. Sasuke cast both girls a look of distaste and went back into the dressing room. He quickly changed and returned to them, holding out the clothes. Sakura took a hold of them and smiled happily to Sasuke.

"So we'll buy this outfit and the others that you tried on and then we'll be on our merry way!" She walked out of the dressing rooms and left for the nearest cashier with Tenten and Sasuke following close behind. Sakura took out a wallet from her purse and went to pay for the clothes when an unsuspecting hand stopped her. She looked up into the impassive face of Sasuke and he handed the cashier a wad of cash. After receiving the receipt, he grabbed Sakura's hand and led her out of the store leaving Tenten to handle the bags.

"Hey! What was that for? I was going to pay!" Sakura yelled out. Sasuke ignored her and kept on walking towards who knows where. The pink-haired girl tried to get out of his grip but he was too strong.

"Atleast wait up for Tenten. You left her to carry all the bags you jerk!"

"Shut up." Sasuke replied. Sakura huffed in fury and halted to a stop. She glanced behind to see Tenten struggling with the bags.

"Okay, let GO of me and help Tenten." Sasuke obliged and let go of her. They both waited for Tenten to catch up and then helped carry the rest of the bags. Tenten wiped her forehead of any existing sweat and smiled uncertainly.

"Thanks for leaving me guys."

"Sorry! Blame it on Mr. Asshole here. He wouldn't even let me pay for his clothes and dragged me away." Said boy, hn'ed in response. Tenten chuckled and nudged Sasuke on the arm.

"I think we've found someone who's even more stubborn than you, Sakura."

"I am not stubborn!" Sakura cried out. Sasuke and Tenten stared at her with a doubtful expression.

"Hey, don't gimme that look. Besides, I think she mentioned that you were even more stubborn than me so HAH!" Sakura said, sticking her tongue out to embellish the statement.

"You're so immature." Sasuke grabbed the bags of clothes and walked in a random direction, leaving a fuming Sakura and a confused Tenten behind. It took a couple minutes before Sakura realized she didn't know where he was going. She grabbed a hold of Tenten's hand and went dashing towards the Uchiha.

* * *

"Goooood morning Sasuke! Rise and shine! Wakey wakey!" Sakura yelled out in anticipation. An exhausted Sasuke peeked above the covers to see a smiling Sakura staring expectantly at him.

"Wake up, you sleepy head! It's time for school!" Sasuke grabbed his clock and checked the time. It was 5:30 in the morning.

"School doesn't start for another two hours." He returned the clock on the dresser and pulled the covers up to his face. Sakura tapped her foot impatiently.  
"Sasuke! Come on!"

"No." He objected quietly. Sakura, losing her patience, pulled the covers down revealing Sasuke clad in only boxers. Once she noticed this, her cheeks formed a rosy red and she dragged the covers back up to his face.

"Uh. Ahem. Just get up, okay?" Sakura quickly turned around and fanned herself down. _Wow, he has a NICE bod! _Sakura's cheeks burned up more at the thought. _Wait.. no I did not just say that. GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! _She shook her head to erase any other forming thoughts and turned back around. She didn't realize that Sasuke had already gotten up and was only centimeters away from her. Their faces were so close that she swore that he could feel the heat radiating off her face.

"Y-you're awake!" Sakura cried out, flustered. Sasuke sent her an odd look before walking towards the shower. With his back facing her, he replied nonchalantly.

"Your face is red." And he closed the door to the bathroom. Sakura slapped her forehead in stupidity. _What is wrong with me?!_

After waiting half an hour, Sakura heard the door to the bathroom open. She looked up from where she was currently reading a book, and watched Sasuke step out. He wasn't dressed yet and the only thing covering him was a towel below the waist. Sakura could feel her face flush red again and glued her eyes to the book she was holding.

"You should put some clothes on." She voiced out nervously. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Obviously. I wasn't planning on going to school naked." At this, Sakura covered her face with the book. Maybe she should've called first to wake him instead of sitting here, thinking about Sasuke 'exposed'. _And also admiring of how good he looks with his hair all wet and his body glistening with water._

"N-no of course not."

"Hn. Do you mind?" Sasuke held his towel firmly, waiting for Sakura to get up and leave. The girl quickly got up from her sitting position and ran out of his room. As soon as she was out, she heaved a sigh of relief. _That's going to be burned into my memory._ She laughed at herself and made her way to his kitchen to cook some breakfast.

A sweet aroma filled the air as Sakura set two empty plates and a pitcher of orange juice onto a table. She grabbed the pan she was cooking with and emptied its contents onto the plates. Then she put down eating utensils next to the plates and two empty glasses. She smiled at a job well done and sat down to feast. From his room, Sasuke could smell cooking and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He saw Sakura glance up at him and smile. He was wearing a gray polo with a navy blue hoodie over it. His pants were a light beige color and he was wearing his black and white trainers. His eyes held no glasses but instead, contacts. And his hair was the usual messy look but it seemed to work out fine for him.

"Tada! It's pancakes! I made it all by scratch. I hope you like!" She exclaimed. Sasuke sat down on the chair across from her and began eating. Sakura watched him eagerly and waited for an answer.

"So?"

"Hm?"

"How's it taste?"

"Uh. Ish'goohd?" Sasuke said through a mouth full of food. Sakura jumped up happily.

"Yay! Alright, so now that you've changed into the wonderful clothes I've picked out for you and you're just about done eating breakfast, we'll go on our merry to school! And surprise everyone with your oh so handsome self." Sakura winked. Sasuke swallowed the last of his pancakes and stared at her.

"I really don't want to do this, Sakura."

"Well, you're going to have to. You said you would!" Sakura insisted with pleading eyes.

"No, I said I'd think about it. YOU said I would." Sasuke stood up and took both of their plates to place them in the sink. Sakura got up from her chair and followed closely behind.

"Just do it. Maybe you'll be lucky and no one will notice you!" Sakura coaxed out. Just then a door slammed shut and a booming voice could be heard through the halls.

"Sasuke! Sakura! Where are you guys? And do I smell PANCAKES?!" Sasuke glared at Sakura who nervously held up a plate of pancakes. A hungry Naruto ran towards the kitchen.

"Yum! Pancakes!" He took the plate Sakura was holding and sat down. After a few minutes, he scarfed the whole plate and wiped his mouth.

"That was good! Sakura did you-WOAH! Sasuke! You look a helluva lot different!" Naruto screamed out in shock. Sasuke continued glaring at the pink-haired girl and whispered to her.

"They won't notice my ass." Sakura shrugged her shoulders innocently and walked towards Naruto.

"So Naruto, what do you think?"

"Where are his glasses? And his beanie? And his ugly clothes?" Sakura watched as Sasuke muttered to himself. Something about his clothes not being ugly and this was all Sakura's fault. She turned to face Naruto to explain.

"Well, we went shopping the other da-"

"Sasuke went _shopping_? Holy crap."

"Yes. Anyway, so we bought new clothes and then got him some conta-"

"Was it by force?"

"Uh. I guess. So we got him some contacts and fixed up his ha-"

"Did he cry? Did you blackmail him into doing it?"

"Hey dumbass. Shut up and let Sakura finish talking." Sasuke said irritated. Naruto stopped talking immediately. Sakura mouthed a thank-you to Sasuke and continued.

"So yah, we convinced him to stop wearing his ole' beanie and scruffed up his hair a bit and tada! New and improved Sasuke. But still in need of an attitude adjustment." Sakura jokingly said. Naruto nodded in approval.

"You look good Sasuke!" Said boy gave a disgusted look towards Naruto.

"Never say that again." And all three of them grabbed their belongings and walked out the door to set off for school.

They all arrived promptly at 7:10 leaving them twenty minutes before the school bell rang. All seemed relatively normal. Sakura was somewhat right; no one had noticed the 'new and improved' Sasuke yet. But it was only a matter of time before some suspecting individual would realize that this Uchiha looked completely different. And as they continued walking through the hallways of the school, one by one, eyes looked up from whatever they were doing and watched the striking appearance of one gorgeous looking Sasuke. And one pair of eyes smirked in satisfaction and walked towards the boy.

"Why hello there." A girl with long black hair and dark black eyes fluttered her eyelashes in a flirty way.

"Hn."

"And who are you, may I ask?" The girl checked out Sasuke and winked at him. Sasuke almost gagged, and would have if it weren't for the fact that he wasn't that kind of person. His face held no emotion and he glared at her silently.

"Not a conversation type of man, I see. That's alright, you won't need to do any talking once we're through." She said seductively. She went to grab Sasuke's hand when a seething Sakura slapped her hand away.

"So Kin, I'm surprised you don't recognize who you're talking to." Sakura said through clenched teeth. Kin raised an eyebrow and pierced Sakura with her stare.

"Well, I was trying to find out until you interrupted," Kin put her face close to Sakura's ear, "and you're totally ruining my game." She spat out in a hushed whisper. Sakura gave a sardonic laugh and whispered back in Kin's ear.

"You've got no game, hun." Sakura stepped back and grinned cheekily.

"By the way, the person you're trying to spit your game at is Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." And as she announced this, everyone's eyes including Kin's, widened in surprise. Kin opened her mouth but couldn't find any words to say. Sakura giggled a bit and softly pushed Kin.

"What's wrong Kin? Cat got your tongue?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. This was a complete waste of time. _Way to draw attention, Sakura_. All of the students surrounding Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Kin were all gossiping to each other. And after a heated glaring contest between Sakura and Kin, the news about Sasuke had gotten around the whole student body. After a few moments, Kin finally spoke up.

"Just because you gave your little boyfriend a makeover, won't change anything. He will always be a geek. That's how the system works. Remember that Sakura." Kin pushed her way out of the crowd and walked away. Meanwhile, Sakura narrowed her eyes in loath.

"That girl is such a bitch." Sakura tightened her fists. Sasuke paid no attention and grabbed an unsuspecting Sakura away from the crowd.

"Let's go." He said while grabbing Naruto along with. The three of them could feel the motion of the crowd (with the majority of them consisting of girls) following closely behind.

"What are they doing?" Sakura asked.

"Sasuke," Naruto said nervously, "I think you've got yourself a fan club."

"Damn it." Sasuke hissed. He silently counted to three and they all made a run for it.

"Saaasuukkeeeeee! We love you!"

* * *

A horde of fan girls surrounded Sasuke's desk and an agitated Sakura sat next to him. Naruto had also decided to join them, amused by the fan girls and everyone's reactions towards them. Sakura was being pushed and squished by all the girls and grabbed the arm of Sasuke to whisper in his ear.

"Why the hell do you have to look so darn attractive?" Sakura hissed. Sasuke gave a look of disdain and whispered back.

"It's not my fault I was born with good looks. Why do you think I tried hiding it my whole life? Dummy."

"Shut up. Get rid of all these girls. PLEASE. I am getting ambushed!"

"What am I supposed to do? This was your fault anyway, miss 'let's give me a make over and ruin everything'. Why don't **you **think of something?" Sasuke snarled back. Sakura let go of his arm and put her hands on her face. Naruto scooted up behind them and slapped them on the backs.

"Great idea, team!" He said sarcastically, as he too was getting ambushed by all the girls. Both Sasuke and Sakura turned around to glare at the blonde. The school bell rang signaling the start of class and unsurprisingly Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. So as long as he wasn't in the classroom, all the fan girls were staying put.

"Sasuke! Do you have a girlfriend?"

"You are so hot!"

"Go out with me!"

"I don't care if you're a geek, I love you!"

"Please sit with me at lunch, Sasuke!" All the girls screamed out. Sasuke sat there, waiting impatiently for Kakashi to arrive and devising a plan to pay back Sakura for this horrible torture. On the other side of the classroom Neji, Tenten, and Ino sat there watching interestedly. Ino could still not believe that that was the same Sasuke she had made fun of not so long ago. He was absolutely gorgeous. How did this happen?

"Told you Neji! You owe me." Tenten announced happily. Neji smirked in amusement and handed Tenten 20 bucks.

"Guess you were right. The Uchiha doesn't look half bad." As he said this, Neji saw Tenten's eyes sparkle in amusement.

"That's not what I meant. I'm not gay." He said offhandedly. Tenten chuckled loudly.

"I know you're not." She rubbed his head affectionately. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Oh my gosh, don't start. Do you see what's happening? This is not good!" She yelled out. Tenten's face scrunched up in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"**This** is wrong!" Ino said while pointing to the Uchiha and the fan girls. Neji closed his eyes in annoyance.

"Ino, get over it. Times change."

"Yah Ino, besides. Like Neji said, the Uchiha doesn't look half bad. Maybe this new look will help prove to the school that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover." Tenten smiled to reassure her. Ino swatted away at the air and huffed in anger. She watched closely as Sakura whispered into Sasuke's ear and he smirked back at her. Naruto whispered to the both of them and Sakura giggled while Sasuke slapped the blonde in the head but they were all enjoying themselves. They were caught in their own little world even though there were tons of fan girls surrounding them. They seemed so happy. Ino had finally realized what it felt like to be on the outside. And she didn't like the feeling. _This is going to change_.

Kakashi walked into the classroom finally and all the girls surrounding Sasuke were forced to go to their classrooms or to sit in their seats. Sakura took a breath of relief and patted Sasuke on the back.

"It's over! Finally!" She grinned.

"Hn."

"Yah but this is probably going to be happening a lot more often now." Naruto muttered. The three of them sighed before opening their books and began listening to Kakashi's boring lectures.

After three more periods of fan girls chasing Sasuke around and Sakura and Naruto were forced into following him, it had finally reached lunchtime. All the girls were trying to get Sasuke to sit with him but to their disappointment, Sasuke had ignored all their requests and went to sit at the bench with Sakura. Naruto decided he would sit at his usual table with Neji, Tenten, and Ino. He said he didn't want to 'interrupt' their alone time to which Sasuke hit him in the head and Sakura blushed.

"Today was so tiring." Sakura said with outstretched arms.

"Was? It still is. We've got two more periods to go." Sasuke reminded her. Sakura shrugged her shoulders and opened her bag of lunch. Sasuke did the same and they both sat there quietly, eating their lunch. Sakura took a bite of her sandwich and glanced at the boy beside her. He really did look a lot different. Not that it was a bad thing because this change had made him look great. But now that all the girls were pursuing for his heart, she wondered if his personality would change along with. There was little doubt in her mind but it still bothered her. What if, now that girls actually paid attention to him, he started going out with them? With that thought, Sakura felt something pain her heart. _Do I.. like him?_

"Sakura." She looked up at the mention of her name. Sasuke quizzically watched her.

"What?" She asked.

"You're not talking." Sasuke replied. Sakura laughed quietly and put down her sandwich.

"You're concerned?"

"Hn."

"Just when I get you to talk more, you stop so abruptly."

"Whatever." Sasuke finished his lunch and glared at Sakura.

"You know Sasuke."

"…"

"I like when you talk." She smiled to him. Sasuke stopped glaring at her and his face held confusion for a moment. He sat there, inspecting Sakura's face closely. She continued on.

"And I like that you talk to me. It.. it makes me feel good." She stammered. Sasuke once again, gave a quizzical look.

"Why?" He inquired with a suspicious glance. Sakura gazed into Sasuke's eyes and kept on smiling.

"Because it makes me feel like I'm someone to you and not just another person you glare at. Someone that matters." She murmured. Sasuke didn't react. His face was as impassive as ever. _Figures._ Sakura stared down at her hands. It didn't surprise her. What did she expect? For him to come out and confess that he cared and he did it because he liked her? _Yah right._

"Sakura." Sasuke said in a low tone. She didn't look up and kept on staring down at her lap. Sasuke's hand made a way towards Sakura's face and he lifted her chin up. Her green, emerald eyes peeked hesitantly as his face. His eyes bore into hers. He leaned closer towards her and Sakura's cheeks began to heat furtively. She could feel his hot breath on her and it made a shiver go up her spine. Sasuke tilted his head, his eyes half closed and Sakura sensed her heartbeat rise. His hand caressed her cheek and she shut her eyes, not knowing what was going to happen next. _Is he going to kiss me?_ She questioned. But before she could find the answer, the bell rang indicating that lunch had ended. The missing warmth of Sasuke's hand on her face caused her to open her eyes. She saw him already up and ready to go, waiting for her. She quickly obtained her belongings and stood up.

"Time for Chemistry. Heh." Sakura nervously choked out. Sasuke didn't reply and they both began walking indoors, towards the classroom with fan girls trailing them from behind. Meanwhile, Ino watched them from within the cafeteria. She had been watching the whole time and didn't miss the almost smooch moment they just had. A tinge of jealously erupted through her as she thought of how Sakura always got what she wanted. She had the looks, the money, the popularity, and now she had the most gorgeous guy (as of today atleast) spending time with her.

"Ugh! Damn you Sakura!" Ino shrieked aloud. Tenten gave her an odd look while waving her hands in front of her face.

"Ino! Time for class."

"Yah yah. Let's go." They both got up from their table and went to catch up with Naruto and Neji.

* * *

**I hope this chapter was long enough for you guys. I've already got the next chapter stirring up in my mind so I'm probably going to be writing that as soon as I upload this. I write as I go, so that's the main reason why I update so slowly xD. Anywho, I'm probably going to include Hinata and Shikamaru in the next chapter. Maybe even some other characters? Tell me if you want someone to be in the story. Reviews would be appreciated :) Please and thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

Here's the 7th installment of Innovation. It's pretty long and I attempted to have a lot of Sasuke and Sakura fluff in it. So be happy! (Because I really suck at updating -.- so I apologize for my lack of punctuality.)

**Disclaimer:** The only thing Naruto I own is a shirt and some cards. Other than that, I own nothing.

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

Since Naruto, Neji, and Tenten didn't have Chemistry with Ino, she was left sitting by herself near a window. Dreadfully, she waited for class to begin. She was still bent up about the whole Sakura situation and she didn't notice that someone had sat beside her. That someone laid his head down on the table and began sleeping. Once he started snoring, it alerted Ino of his presence. She looked down at the desk next to her and scowled.

"Shikamaru, who said you could sit by me?" She said in disgust. Shikamaru, interrupted from his dormant sleep, growled.

"This is a free country, you troublesome woman."

"That doesn't mean you can sit by me." Ino huffed out. Shikamaru lifted his head off the desk and stared Ino in the eyes.

"Too bad." He muttered out and laid a hand on his face. Ino shrieked out in aggravation and started yelling out profanities toward Shikamaru who in turn, ignored her. After a while, Ino realized the boy was ignoring her and her pleads for having him move and stopped. She brought her hands to her face and began screaming. Shikamaru stared dubiously at her.

"You have some serious problems."

"Shut up, you loser! Don't talk to me! Don't look at me! Don't interact with me in any way!" She continued screaming into her hands and brought out the frustration that she was holding in. Shikamaru began to ignore her once again and glanced out the window. The clouds were looking nice today. With that thought, he closed his eyes in exhaustion and fell asleep again. Ino, on the other hand, halted her screaming and glanced at the boy next to her. He wasn't paying any attention to her. She slapped him in the head to wake up him. He groggily looked up and glared at her.

"Stop waking me up."

"Talk to me, you bum." Ino looked so desperate as she requested this. Shikamaru almost felt sorry for her. Where were her other friends? What about Sakura?

"I thought you said to not interact with you."

"I lied, now come on. Talk to me about something." Her eyes flickered in anticipation, waiting for him to say something.

"Talking takes too much work." Shikamaru replied casually. Ino slapped him in the head once again.

"Seriously Shikamaru!" Shikamaru idly gave a look of displease.

"What do you want from me, woman?" Ino opened her mouth to retort something but couldn't find any words. She slumped her shoulders in defeat and decided to stay quiet. She really felt like nobody was on her side. She was always a shadow compared to Sakura. Ino was fairly popular, but she was popular for the wrong reasons. People had thought of her as the bitch of the school, beside Kin of course. And she got her way with her aggressiveness. She wasn't sure if people even liked her for _her_ or if they just liked her because of her popularity and the fact that she was best friends with Sakura. Ino considered the thought of maybe changing, acting a bit nicer to everyone. It would probably help people to like her and get to know the real her, like Tenten and the rest of the group did. She breathed in one deep breath and turned towards Shikamaru. The boy scrunched his eyes at her, unsure of what she was going to do.

"I'm sorry."

"..What?" Shikamaru blinked while continuing to look at the girl before him with a shocked expression. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Stop with that look! All I said was sorry, is that so hard to believe?"

"Uh, YAH?"

"Well you better believe it." Ino crossed her arms and turned her head boldly.

"Hm," Shikamaru paused before nodding in response, "I suppose I will."

"Better!" Ino shouted out. There was a brief silence that followed and they both watched each other awkwardly. Ino turned her attention to her hair and twirled a strand of hair in between her thumb and index finger. Shikamaru observed her face and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What're you apologizing for anyway?" The blonde looked up from her hair twirling and pursed her lips together. She contemplated on her answer for a few minutes before replying back.

"Everything… I guess."

"Oh." Another long silence ensued. But it was a comfortable one and Ino turned her head away as a hint of a smirk had forced itself on her face as she watched Shikamaru's confused face from the corner of her eye.

As they sat waiting, Sasuke and Sakura had walked into the classroom. One looking cool and composed while the other nervously had her head down, cheeks a warming red. The walk to Chemistry with Sasuke had made Sakura all fidgety and she was stuck on the thought of what _could_ have happened if the bell hadn't rung. She didn't want to ask though, thinking it'd be ridiculous and she didn't want to embarrass herself. So she settled on just avoiding it all together and resume to their normal activities.

Sasuke sat down in his usual desk and Sakura sat beside him. Of course, fan girls crowded around them and left Sakura in even more stress than before. All these girls, and a lot of them were good-looking. Good-looking enough to take Sasuke away from her. Well not that he was hers to begin with but after hanging out with him numerous times, she was comfortable with the fact that he was more hers than anyone else's. Atleast for now. _That might change later though._ Sakura thought with disdain. With a sigh she solemnly took out her notebook and prepared for class to start. Sasuke peered at her through the corner of his eye and wondered what was wrong with her. He made a note to ask her later. He would've asked her now except for the fact that fan girls were surrounding their desks. _Ch. Stupid girls._

* * *

At the end of 8th period, Sasuke walked out of his classroom and went towards his locker. When he arrived, he noticed there were cards, notes, and other things taped to his locker. It was even worse when he opened it. There were plenty more notes and somehow a box of chocolates and a balloon had found it's way in there. _How the heck is that possible?_ He shrugged it off and just pushed everything out of the way so he could grab his books and head home. When he shut his locker closed and turned around, he was surprised to find a head of pink hair and bright green eyes staring expectantly at him.

"Uh. Hi?"

"Do you need a ride home?" Sakura asked sweetly. Sasuke gave an odd look and started to walk away.

"No."

"Aw come on! You can't walk home!" Sakura yelled out, following behind. Sasuke waved his hand and kept on walking.

"Sasuke! Stop!"

"Hn."

"Atleast wait up for me!" She started running to catch up with Sasuke but somehow he had walked a great distance in such a short amount of time, Sakura lost track of him. _Damn that guy is fast!_ She turned a corner and barely saw him walking out of the school doors.

"GEEZUS! STOP WALKING SO FAST YOU ASSHOLE!" She ran as fast as she could and slammed the doors open. Looking around, she couldn't find Sasuke anywhere in sight. _What? He was just here a minute ago.._

"Ugh! That bastard. Left me all alone. I was just trying to be nice and offer a ride but no; he just declined and left me in the dust. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!" Sakura muttered under her breath.

"You were saying?" Sasuke walked out from behind a brick wall. Sakura jumped at the sound of his voice and turned around to face him.

"What the hell?! Did you want me to piss my pants or something?" Sakura shrieked out. Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes Sakura. That's precisely what I wanted you to do. Getting a girl to piss her pants from being scared shitless is an abnormal fantasy of mine." He spat out sarcastically.

"Ha ha. Very funny." Sakura crossed her arms and glared back at the Uchiha. He in turn, shrugged his shoulders and began walking the opposite direction.

"Wait Uchiha!" Sasuke stopped at the sudden demand and waited for Sakura to come towards him.

"Don't walk. Just let me give you a ride." She insisted, pouting her face and fluttering her eyelashes to add effect and maybe convince Sasuke to come with her. Sasuke stood there for a moment and contemplated on the offer. He shoved a hand in his pocket while still carrying his books in the other. He spun around to face Sakura and positioned his face rather close to hers to whisper in her ear, obviously making Sakura feel very uncomfortable.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Haruno?" Sasuke said in a low, alluring voice. Sakura's cheeks warmed up to a pale shade of pink. She opened her mouth to retort something but the close proximity of Sasuke's face near hers, distracted her from any witty comeback she could come up with. The only word that would come out of her mouth was a silent and confused,

"Huh?" Sasuke smirked in success of throwing Sakura off guard and moved away swiftly.

"Bye." He slowly walked away and counted the seconds in his head until Sakura finally realized he was gone and far away from where he was previously standing. She blinked a couple times before running to catch up with him.

"Hey! You tricked me!" She cried out while pointing a finger to him. Sasuke kept on walking, ignoring anything and everything that she was saying.

"Come back here!"

"Why?"

"Because you're a jerk and you need to apologize for trying to distract me!" Sasuke smirked and turned around once again to face Sakura.

"I wasn't _trying_ to distractyou, I was just asking a simple question." He said casually. Sakura gave him a look of disbelief.

"Yah, okay! You purposely asked me that so you could get away."

"Not my fault you get flustered easily." Sakura gaped and turned her head hastily. She mumbled to herself for quite a long time while Sasuke watched amusedly. And after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence and Sasuke getting bored of waiting for Sakura to recompose herself, he spoke up.

"How about you just walk with me." Sasuke asked unexpectedly. Sakura looked up from where she was standing and gave a look of bewilderment. It took her a moment to respond because the suddenness of the question.

"..What about my ca-"

"You can get it later." Sakura didn't even have time to react when Sasuke took a hold of her arm and pulled her towards the direction of his house.

"What do you think you're trying to do here?!" Sakura screamed out in resistance while trying to skid her shoes to a stop on the pavement but to no avail, Sasuke was obviously stronger. He just towed her along like she was extra luggage. He didn't even bother answering back and dragged her along to the sidewalk. After too many attempts to come to a halt and all failing miserably, Sakura willingly let Sasuke take her with. She decided she could just get someone to pick up the car for her afterward. For now, she was just going to have to go along with Sasuke to she supposed his house since that was the way that they were going.

Plus the little voice inside her head didn't mind having Sasuke's masculine hands hold her arm so tightly like he didn't want to let go. Like someone who was afraid that at any moment their lover would make a run for it. It reminded her of something coming from a romance novel. And it made her feel like they were actually together, he holding her tenderly (well sort of, she might have imagined the 'tenderly' part), walking down the street. (Although it looked more as if he was taking her hostage than an affectionate pair.) But with that bizarre thought, it somehow made her feel more at ease. And she sniggered silently to herself while she watched random girls on the street ogle at her and Sasuke. One girl even had the nerve to come up to them and ask if they were really a couple. In which Sakura blushed heatedly to the question and Sasuke paid no heed. That triggered Sakura into fantasizing about being an actual couple and she smiled helplessly at the idea.

"Girls are really stupid." Sasuke uttered out loud as soon as the random girl went away. Sakura who was not paying attention glanced up at him in question. It took a few moments till she grasped what he had said and she removed her arm from his clutch to hit him roughly on the back. He being his arrogant self pretended he didn't feel anything and didn't even glimpse down at the pink haired girl. That irritated Sakura even more and this time she pushed him off balance. He almost tripped but this was Sasuke, and he was always poise so he brushed it off and still pretended like nothing happened. Although he did mutter under his breath.

"This is why girls are stupid." Unfortunately, an angered Sakura heard anyway.

"Excuse me?! You do realize I _am_ a girl."

"Sorry, could've fooled me." Sasuke spoke in a mocking manner.

"Oh you're going to wish you never said that." Sakura hissed out menacingly as she pushed up the sleeves of her sweater.

"Tch. I'm not afraid of you." With that said, Sasuke walked away not realizing a fuming Sakura was following behind. He could hear her but he didn't feel like waiting up. Again. Because really, this girl was a slow walker and he wished she would learn how to walk faster to atleast catch up with him. Well pretty soon Sasuke got exactly what he wished for and just when he least expected it, Sakura ran up behind him and tackled him. Then as he tried to get up, she pushed him back down with her knee.

"Sakura." Sasuke snarled through his clenched teeth. _There's no way in hell I'm getting thrashed about by a girl._

"Yes Sasuke, my dear." Sakura grinned triumphantly. Her grin widened as she watched Sasuke's livid face when she called him dear. She removed her knee from his back and instead, opted to sit on him. Onlookers observed interestedly, enjoying the fact that Sakura was being the dominant one. But Sasuke was not going to take this. He was not going to stand for this! (and because he really couldn't at the moment.) He was a man! And men did not let women take over and sit on top of their backs. Especially when they were wearing brand new gap khaki pants! They were expensive. And if he weren't so stupid and had just let Sakura buy his clothes, he wouldn't have cared.

He was getting quite dirty and frustrated, lying in the grass. So Sasuke, not minding whether Sakura was going to get hurt or not; twisted around, grabbed Sakura by the waist, and flipped her over so that she was lying on her back and he was hovering over her. Sakura's grin dramatically changed to that of a shocked expression. Sasuke smirked victoriously and playfully pushed a strand of hair out of Sakura's eyes. Surprisingly, she didn't blush at his touch. But there were butterflies in her stomach.

"Sakura, you imprudent, persistent girl. You will _never_ win." And even though Sakura was in some way, defeated, she couldn't help but giggle at Sasuke's oh so ludicrous superiority. Sasuke rolled his eyes at her pettiness and rose from their position. He thought about leaving her there so she could fend for herself but he was already holding out his hand for hers to take before he could stop himself. When she grabbed on, he lifted her up from the ground and immediately started walking away, not realizing that their hands were still intact. Sakura on the other hand, noticed this small detail and couldn't help the cartwheels her stomach was producing.

* * *

"You totally suck."

"Excuse me?"

"It's obvious you cheated." Sakura stated, crossing her arms in the process. Sasuke raised one fine eyebrow, giving her a look of disdain. They were both sitting on his bed, staring intensely at each other.

"You're mistaken, Sakura. I think **you** just suck that much at videogames." Sasuke voiced out, closing his eyes in fatigue. Sakura made an oval shape with her mouth and hit Sasuke squarely in the shoulder.

"I do not! I just.. haven't played in a while! Best two out of three!" Sakura said, trying to persuade Sasuke into playing again. He ignored her request and responded with his eyes still shut.

"No. That's what you said the last 37 times I beat you. And you still haven't gotten any better."

"You totally suck." Sakura pouted, jutting her bottom lip out.

"So I've heard." Sasuke numbly situated himself so he was lying down instead of sitting and placed his arms to rest behind his head. He was awfully tired from engaging in videogames the whole afternoon. He was surprised that Sakura even liked videogames. She didn't seem like the type. But still, that didn't change the fact that she was horrible at them and had made him play till their hands felt like they were about to fall off and that didn't even stop her from wanting to play more.

An exhausted Sakura yawned beside the Uchiha and he briefly opened his eyes to glance at her.

"You're tired." It came out more of a statement than a question but Sakura nodded her head in reply anyway. She spent about 3 consecutive hours playing videogames with Sasuke. Of course she was tired. And she still had homework to do.

"So maybe you should go to sleep." Sasuke said, implying that she should go to her own home and sleep there but Sakura misunderstood the command and lay down alongside Sasuke. Even though his eyes were shut, he could feel the weight of Sakura's body next to him, and he suddenly began to feel a bit anxious.

"…Yah, that's not what I meant." He murmured. Sakura took no notice of Sasuke's discomfort and ruffled her hand through his hair.

"Oh don't sweat it. I'm just going to take a nap, I'll be gone before you know it!"

"No, because I don't want to be responsible if you oversleep." Sasuke scoffed out.

"Shush. I will not. I'll make sure of it!"

"Hn." Even though Sasuke totally disliked the idea of Sakura staying longer to take a stupid nap, he decided to just let it go. He didn't feel like arguing anyway. So they both made themselves comfortable on Sasuke's bed with Sakura as far away as possible from him. It was her idea but she still felt weird and didn't want to be _too_ comfortable. She was only taking an hour nap and then she was going to go home.

"Put an alarm on."

"Sasuke, I'm capable of waking myself up."

"Just do it."

"Ergh. You're so difficult." Sakura said, quickly setting an alarm on her phone to wake herself up. Once everything was set, Sakura rested her eyes and began drifting to sleep. But unfortunately for her, she didn't realize that the alarm was set to 7:20 AM and not PM.

* * *

"Sakura."

"Mmmm."

"Wake up, you sleepy head." _Hey that's my line.. _Sakura thought to herself dreamily.

"Nooooo." Sakura was just not a morning person. She wasn't sure what time it was but she was pretty sure she didn't feel like getting up. Sasuke on the other hand was determined to get her to.

"Sakura, please."

"Nooooo."

"I'm going get you to wake up."

"Hmph."

"What if.. I make you chocolate chip waffles." Sasuke offered.

"Nuhhh."

"..okay what about if I pour ice cold water on your head."

"Pfft."

"How about I jump on you."

"Mrrgg." Even though Sakura was half asleep, she was somewhat aware of what was going on and couldn't help but laugh on the inside at how ridiculous this situation seemed to be. Plus she wasn't even sure what she was saying.

"Tickle you?"

"Ughhh."

"Hn. How do you get good grades in school when you talk like that?"

"Blehh."

"Alright. What is it gonna take to get you to wake up?" Sasuke said in an annoyed tone.

"…"

"..?"

"..mmhmm."

"What's that? I don't speak idiot."

"Kishhmehhh."

"Sorry, that was incomprehensible. Repeat?"

"Mmmjuskishemeh."

"Please Sakura, I can't understand your mumbling." Sasuke was getting really irritated. He was tempted to just shake her till she woke up.

"Arrghhjustdoitdamnitmhnmdfgh."

"What?"

"Oh my gosh, just kiss me!" Sakura shouted out as she opened her eyes and sat up quickly. It took a minute before everything sunk in and she realized what she had just said to Sasuke.

"…"

"…"

"Did you just say.."

"No.."

"..Hn."

"Uhm." _Boy this is embarrassing. _Sakura thought to herself.

"Yah."

"I-I'm sorry."

"…"

"I'm so stupid. Just forget I said anything."

"Sakura.."

"What? Are you going to punch me because I totally understand if you want to."

"No." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Never talk to me again? Yah, totally deserve that."

"No, Sakura just listen."

"You know what? I'll just punch myself in the face."

"…"

"Or better yet, we pretend this never happened and you won't ever have to hang out with me again and I won't annoy you anymore and-"

"Sakura!" Sasuke cut her off by putting his hand to her mouth. A muffled squeak was heard and Sasuke waited a few seconds before finally deciding to let his hand drop.

"What..?"

"Close your eyes, stupid."

"What?! What for? You just called me stupid."

"I thought you wanted me to kiss you, you dummy."

"I.. what? No.. I mean yah. I mean uhh.." Sakura looked away in embarrassment.

"Hn. You're cute when you're flustered." Sasuke smirked in a teasing fashion.

"Sasuke.."

"I want to tell you something."

"Yes.." Sakura looked up into Sasuke's dark, intimidating eyes and moved closer towards his face with eyes half lidded. Sasuke breathed in, slowly edging nearer.

"I lo-"

***THUMP***

"Owwie…" Sakura mumbled as she massaged the side of her head.

"Uh Sakura. It's past 7:20."

"Gosh, so what? Doesn't mean you should push me off your bed." Sakura said in a hoarse voice, glaring at Sasuke.

"Hn whatever."

"Yah you wouldn't care. Ugh. I was having such a good dream.." Sakura blushed as she remembered what her dream was about.

"That's great. I'm pretty sure everyone in the room doesn't care." Sasuke voiced out.

"What? There's no one else in this room except me and you."

"Exactly. I don't care and you don't matter." Sakura scowled, glaring at Sasuke heatedly while throwing a pillow at his head.

"Asshole.. what time is it anyway? How late am I?" Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

"Wow you're a lot of help." Sakura bit out sarcastically. She stood up, brushed herself off and sat back down on Sasuke's bed. She looked to the side and reached for her phone to check the time. Her face quickly changed from annoyance to shock once she read the small, brightly illuminated numbers on her phone screen.

"It's-I just-I can't believe.. Oh GOD! SASUKE I SLEPT TOO LONG" Sakura screamed out at the top of her lungs. Sasuke, from the other side of the bed, dashed towards her and grabbed her shoulders so he could get a hold of her face and clasp his hand on her mouth.

"Shut up!" Sasuke whispered out quite loudly. Sakura tried getting out of his grasp but Sasuke was too strong. She squirmed around, thrashing her arms up and down, trying to yell out profanities towards the high heavens but Sasuke kept his hold and prevented her from almost waking up the whole house. He cursed to himself wondering why the hell did he let her take a stupid nap at his house. He knew it was a bad idea but his fatigue ruled out the best of him. It took a couple of minutes but Sakura finally calmed down. Sasuke hesitantly let go of her and took his hand off her mouth before waiting for her to reply.

"Sasuke.. It's 4:17 in the morning." Sakura said with a blank look on her face.

"Yah. I know." Why the hell would he wake her up if he didn't already know that? _Stupid girl._

"I have not gone home yet."

"Really, I didn't seem to notice."

"Oh my gosh. My parents are going to kill me if they find out!" Sakura quietly hushed out in a whisper, ignoring Sasuke's sarcastic comments. Sasuke was glad she hadn't yelled that one out.

"I told you to put an alarm on." Sasuke said all knowingly. Sakura turned to look at him but instead of glaring at him like Sasuke expected, tears began to sprout out from the corner of her eyes. He braced himself for a fountain show and asked himself what he was supposed to say in a situation like this. Damn him for not being good with words.

"Sasuke," Sakura muffled out with a sniffle, "I'm going to be in so much trouble." Sasuke sat there, not knowing what to say.

"Why didn't my phone alarm go off.." Sakura questioned to herself. She pressed a few buttons on her blackberry and checked the alarm on it to see what time she set it to. She berated herself as she saw the alarm time that she put. Sasuke watched curiously to see what she was going to do next but she didn't do anything. She sat there just staring blankly towards the blue painted walls.

"Sakura."

"Yes?"

"..." Sasuke wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. He opened his mouth again but nothing came out. Instead he tentatively put a hand to her back and patted it awkwardly. He didn't know what was going to happen because frankly he never had a girl accidentally sleep over his house and didn't know what Sakura's parents would do to her or even him if they found out. Even so, Sakura finally came to her senses and jumped up, quickly grabbing her belongings and putting her shoes and jacket on.

"I'm going to go." She didn't even give him time to say goodbye before she opened up his door and shuffled silently down the stairs towards the front door. He opted to just let her leave and go back to sleep then check up on her later when he wasn't so tired but the rational side of him made him get up and go follow after to make sure she was alright now. He found her halfway out the door but she wasn't moving. She stood there, one foot on the front step of his house and the other still inside. Sasuke walked down the stairs to see what was wrong when Sakura took her hand off the door handle and walked back in. She slapped her hand to her forehead and kicked her shoes off while setting her stuff on the ground.

"I thought you were leaving." Sasuke said from one of the steps on the stairs. Sakura ignored him and pushed past, walking back towards his room. Sasuke stood there for a moment, confused. He soon followed after and closed the door to his room once they were both in it. He was just about to say something but Sakura beat him to it.

"My car's not here." Sakura whispered. Sasuke finally realized why she hadn't left yet. He had definitely forgotten that they both walked to his house and that she had left her car at school. He mentally slapped himself for not reminding her to get her car back. For once, Sasuke was the one feeling stupid. Not only did he forget about her car, he forgot that his house was a ways off from the school. He didn't mind walking because he liked the exercise and he was used to the distance but Sakura on the other hand probably wasn't and she was a slow walker so it would take her a while to get to her car. Plus any towing place was closed and Sakura couldn't call anyone because it was so early in the morning.

"I'm.. sorry." That was all Sasuke could muster out and say. Sakura knew he wasn't good with words but an "I'm sorry" wasn't going to fix anything. She roughly tugged a handful of hair with both hands and lay down on Sasuke's bed.

"What am I supposed to do?" She rubbed her temple and felt that she was about to cry again when she felt a shifting of weight beside her and looked up to see Sasuke. He had this guilty look on his face, which surprised Sakura because she never thought she'd ever see Sasuke looking guilty. In fact, she thought he would be a jerk and scold her for being so irresponsible but instead he stayed silent and gently pulled her up and off the bed. She didn't know what he was doing but she let him guide her to wherever they were going.

He grabbed some keys off the nightstand and steered her out of his room and back down the stairs. They stopped at the front door and he let go of Sakura's hand so she could put her shoes on and get her stuff. When she was done, he didn't hesitate to take back her hand. They didn't go out through the front door but walked through the living room, kitchen, and then out the garage door to where Sasuke unlocked the doors of a black 2008 Audi R8.

"Is this your car?" Sakura curiously asked. Sasuke nodded and opened the passenger door so Sakura could get in. Sakura was surprised to see the car. She remembered Sasuke saying something about having driven before in one of their sparse conversations but she didn't know he had his own car. It was a really nice car too so she couldn't understand why he liked to walk. He must be crazy. He lived so far away too but she didn't say anything and just admired the upholstery and the inside of the Audi. Sasuke turned the engine on and opened the garage with a garage opener attached to the sun visor. He reversed out of the garage and out into the street. He was about to push the gear into drive but Sakura grabbed his arm.

"Where are we going?"

"To get your car."

A solemn 'oh' was all Sasuke heard and turned towards Sakura with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you so glum about," Sasuke pushed the shift stick into drive but still pressing on the brakes, "I'm driving you to your car so you don't have to walk in the cold dark."

"I know.."

"So then what're you frowning for?" Sakura sighed and gazed out of her window.

"I know I'll probably get in a lot of trouble and all, but I kind of wanted to hang out for a little bit longer.." Sakura murmured. Sasuke gave a deadpanned stare before rolling his eyes and lifting his foot off the brake and pressing the gas pedal.

"Okay, I get your point. We don't have to, just take me to my car."

"Fine I will," Sasuke uttered out, "but we're going to get breakfast first." He glanced at Sakura and saw her mouth slowly morph into a smile.

"Really?! Thank you Sasuke! I really appreciate it."

"Tch." He disregarded her sudden change of mood and kept looking down at the road, driving to the nearest Denny's but he couldn't help letting a hint of a smirk grace his features.

* * *

**YES! I finished the chapter after so long! Hah I hope atleast someone is still reading this xP. But anyway, I hope whoever IS reading this liked the chapter and I'll try to get out the next chapter as soon as possible! Although I can't make any promises.. Also I know I always have so much dialogue and I'm sorry but sometimes I just can't help it lol. Reviews are very much appreciated :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Man, I'm taking forever to update this story. My apologies! Please don't kill me.. .  
I know where I want this story to go, it's just hard to connect all my ideas and fill in the plot holes. So sorry! I hope you enjoy this chapter and HOPEFULLY I'll update sooner.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

_Italics _– someone is thinking.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura were sitting across from each other in a booth by the window patiently waiting for their food to arrive. Sakura was staring at the window in deep contemplation while Sasuke was messing with his I-pod. Usually Sakura would be on full conversation but it was another one of those moments where she had to think over her current situation. She always thought badly of herself and she was once again, thinking about Sasuke and her. Sakura knew that they were getting closer and she was glad for it, but she was just so afraid she'd lose him. Sasuke seemed to be nonchalant and indifferent about all the fan girls he'd been accumulating over the past day so she wasn't exactly sure how he felt about everything. She knew he was still a little pissed at her for making him get into this mess, but she could see that he was actually somewhat enjoying the experience of people liking him and wanting to be his friend (or boyfriend in most cases), but it didn't seem to get to his head. Yet. Sakura knew she shouldn't worry because Sasuke was.. Sasuke, and the day before he had been complaining the whole time about how annoying this all was. He specifically said that fan girls were stupid and a waste of time and damn him if he'd ever get with any of them, which of course made Sakura secretly glee in happiness, but still, there was just that feeling that was gnawing inside her. _I should stop worrying. Sasuke is mature enough and he never let anything get to him before, why should he start now? Right..?_

In the meantime, Sasuke was checking his I-pod for any good songs to listen to, but gave up once he realized that it would be rude for him to listen to music while he was with Sakura, especially since she liked to talk a lot. Although he noticed since the whole time they got into the booth and ordered their food, she hadn't said one word. He looked up from the mp3 device and saw Sakura gazing out the window, unconsciously playing with a strand of her hair, and biting her lip as if she was debating on something. She had half-lidded eyes and her normally bright green orbs were a darker shade of emerald, but they still kept the same shine in the poorly lit room. Her hair was messy and splayed out in small waves because she wasn't able to re-straighten it from the night before, but Sasuke thought to himself that he liked her hair better this way because it looked more natural. She paid no heed to him or to the world surrounding her. She was in her own world and in that moment in time, Sasuke thought she looked undoubtedly beautiful. He sat there, staring continuously, with his elbows propped up on the table and his chin resting on his linked fingers. Sometime along the way, Sakura had come about from her deliberation and looked up to see Sasuke watching at her. Her cheeks heated up in embarrassment but seeing the smirk don Sasuke's face after, she smiled back in return. They stayed that way for a fleeting moment, not saying a word, but with happy faces (or in Sasuke's case, amused face) until the waitress dropping off their food interrupted their silence.

"Ah, two young lovebirds who aren't quarreling in the morning. That's a refreshing sight to see! Usually we get them flooding in, arguing about who should get the bacon and who should get the hash browns." The waitress chuckled and set the plates of food on the table. The comment caught them both off guard so it took a minute longer for an initial response. Sakura's cheeks were reddening by the second and she tried helplessly to think of a decent response back to correct the waitress, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She glanced at Sasuke and saw amusement in his eyes. Clearly he was enjoying her embarrassment. _Bastard_. She was about to say something when Sasuke spoke up.

"Thank you. We appreciate the fact that you don't find us quite as bothersome as other couples. We try not to let impractical arguments get in the way of our relationship." He gave a charming smile back that could knock off the socks of any lady, young or old, and certainly it was working because the waitress fanned herself in satisfaction. She looked at Sakura and gave her a wink.

"My, what a charming fellow you've got on your hands. Better have a hold on this one. He's a keeper!"

"Y-yes. Thank you, I'll uh.. try." Sakura spluttered back with a hesitant smile. The waitress cheekily grinned at them both and with a 'how lovely' comment, left them alone again. Sakura turned her head slowly from the now vacant spot of the waitress and gave Sasuke a confused, incredulous look.

"It's not very ladylike to leave your mouth hanging like that." He said with a smirk on his face. Sakura ignored the rude comment and kept on glaring.

"You- what the hell was that?"

"What was what?" Sasuke's eyebrows raised in feign innocence. Sakura could tell he knew exactly what she was asking, but she also knew that he was trying to mess with her and she refused to be played like that.

"You know exactly what I'm referring to. Don't play games with me mister!" She reached across the table just to poke him in the chest for affect. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I just thought it'd be too much of a hassle to correct her. There was no harm done."

"Oh." Sakura didn't know what to say back, so she rolled her eyes and slumped back in her seat. _No harm done, my butt._ She looked up to find Sasuke preparing to eat his food. She sighed, thinking, _if only you knew, Sasuke, how I felt about you.._  
Soon enough, they finished up their meals with minimal conversation. Sakura wasn't really in the mood to talk, and Sasuke wasn't up for trying to figure out why. He had just assumed that it was because of last night and how she was most likely going to get in trouble, but in the back of his mind, there was a hidden doubt that maybe there was more to it than that. He didn't want to pry though, so he just left it alone.

Eventually, they got up to leave the restaurant, with Sasuke paying for their meal much to Sakura's protest, and walked to the car. Right before they left, the same waitress had, once again, made a comment of how cute they were together, and waved them on out with a wink. Feeling even more awkward, Sakura resumed to her quiet state while she got into the passenger side.

While on the drive home, Sakura felt a little relieved. She had been starving since she had woken up and she finally satiated her hunger. She also felt pleased with the fact that Sasuke had been nice enough in the first place to take her to breakfast. It was still quite early in the morning and the sun was just visible to the horizon, rising slowly and making the whole town light up with bright hues of pink and orange. Sakura gazed longingly, wishing that she didn't have to go home to a, most likely, verbal punishment. Though she had to admit to herself, she had enjoyed this time with Sasuke. Besides the whole oversleeping part, she didn't regret one bit of it. And maybe, a little, she didn't even mind sleeping over. She wondered to herself if she was the first girl to ever sleepover at Sasuke's. Maybe even the first girl to step foot into his house. Pondering on that, she smiled to herself, then casually glimpsed at Sasuke. He remained silent and mysterious, as always, but she admired the way he looked with the sun rising behind him. With the light casting over his features, and the wind flowing through his black hair, she was reminded of the first time she had driven him. The first time she realized how beautiful he was. How beautiful he _is_. He glanced back at her with an impassive look, but when he noticed her smiling, his lips curved upward into a smirk and Sakura thought to herself, _at least I can have this_, while she graced him with an even bigger smile.

In time, they had finally arrived to Sakura's car and she proceeded to grab her things and get out of Sasuke's when he stopped her, putting a hand on her wrist. Sakura looked down at him surprised and gave a questioning look. Sasuke quickly let go and responded gruffly.

"Hey, I hope you don't get into too much trouble. But if you do, I just wanted to let you know.. I'm sorry." He put his hand back on the steering wheel and looked out into the view before him, avoiding Sakura's puzzled stare. It took a minute to process before she smiled in return.

"Thanks Sasuke. I really appreciate it. I'm sure that took a lot to say." She giggled when he turned his head the opposite direction.

"Plus, it was my fault, I had the wrong alarm time.. I just hope my parents don't kick my ass all the way to Mars and back. But anyway, thanks again! Drive back home safely. I'll see you at school. "

"Hn. You too. Bye."

Sakura finally got out of Sasuke's car and walked toward her own. Sasuke had waited til she started her car and reversed before he moved to leave as well. They both drove out of the school, each turning in different directions towards their own homes.

* * *

At school, Sasuke remained waiting, sitting on the bleachers near the field. He was unusually early, and he wouldn't have been if it weren't for the fact that he got a distressed call from Naruto to meet him there. That was weird in itself because Naruto never wanted to come to school, let alone come to school early. Nonetheless, Sasuke had been waiting for ten minutes, wondering when the hell the dobe would be coming to meet him and why. He looked around the field, seeing no one in sight, when a blob of orange came running towards him from the side. Sasuke stood up and sidestepped before Naruto tripped over the bleacher and fell flat on his face where Sasuke was once sitting. Rubbing his head, he got up and glared at Sasuke.

"What the hell, man? If you knew I looked like I was going to fall, why didn't you try and stop me?" Naruto watched as Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

"You're a jerk. I hope you know that."

"Yah, I hear it from you and Sakura all the time. Old news." Sasuke sat down and watched as Naruto did the same.

"Speaking of Sakura, this is why I asked for you to come meet me." In response, Sasuke quirked an eyebrow up.

"She wanted me to tell you that she did end getting in lots of trouble for last night. She's actually grounded for a really long time. Her parents didn't give her an exact estimate, but she knows they were pretty pissed and probably will be for a while."

"Oh." Sasuke didn't know what to say. He figured she'd get in trouble, but it didn't stop him from feeling bad for being somewhat responsible for it. Naruto noticed and patted his hand on Sasuke's back.

"Don't worry too much about it. They were more mad at the fact that she didn't call them than her sleeping over your house. Though, she did say they were not too pleased at that either. Hence why she couldn't tell you herself, because her parents kind of.. forbid her to speak or hang out with you." At this, Sasuke unnoticeably slumped his posture. He remained emotionless, but on the inside he felt.. well he wasn't sure. Maybe a little bit of disappointment mixed with anger on his own part. He knew it was a bad idea to let Sakura nap at his house. He should've made more of an effort to get her to go home instead. He wondered, though, why her parents didn't call her in the first place if they were so worried. He voiced this thought and Naruto shrugged.

"I think it's because they work late nights. Sakura texted them that she was going to be at your house, so they knew where she was, but they didn't realize she still wasn't home until they got home themselves. They were waiting for her when she did get home."

"Hn."

"Yah. So.. that's pretty much all she wanted me to tell you. Oh, well there's that, and you may also not be able to talk to her in school because Ino will be all up on her ass. Her parents had called Ino to ask to her to make sure Sakura didn't try talking to you either." Sasuke sighed irritably. Ino had always been a bitch to him, so he knew that even if he wanted to attempt to talk to Sakura that Ino would be a pain in the ass to have to deal with.

"Well, time for school! I can't believe we're here this early. I'm starving! Let's go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Maybe we'll see Sakura before Ino gets to her first." With that, they both got up and walked towards the doors to the school.

They walked through the hallways and there were barely any people there yet, but the ones that were, most of them being girls, ogled Sasuke the whole time. He ignored this and followed Naruto into the cafeteria where there were even more girls staring at him creepily. Some even tried coming up to Sasuke and talking to him, but he briskly walked past them and Naruto just waved them off. While they were there, Naruto got his food and Sasuke got a V8 to drink and they walked towards a table to sit down. It wasn't until it became closer to their first period that more people started coming to school, which meant more annoying fangirls that Sasuke had to deal with. They unsuccessfully got to enjoy their food and drink because of all the surrounding girls.

"Seriously, it's like what? The second day already, and they just keep on coming! How are you going to get used to this for the rest of the school year. Geez!" Naruto said as girls were trying to push him away to sit next to Sasuke.

"I have no idea." Sasuke replied while he tried to ignore everyone else around him. He attempted to take a sip of his drink, but since it was so crowded around him, he accidentally spilled his drink onto some random girl. He would've normally apologized, but the girl was jumping around crazily screaming.

"Sasuke spilled his drink on me! He spilled his drink _on ME_! Get jealous!"

"No way! You lucky bitch!"

"It's my turn to sit next to him!"

"No it's mine!"

"You all are wrong. It's my turn, and I'm going to get him to spill on me too!"

Naruto's face contorted into one of disgust and turned to Sasuke, signaling to get out of there. Sasuke nodded in agreement and moved to get up when a hand pushed him back down.

"Are you going somewhere?" A manicured nail pushed Sasuke's face towards the apprehending person and he looked up to see Kin standing there, smiling at him.

"Kin, get out of our way! We're trying to leave." Naruto yelled out and grabbed Sasuke's shoulder to push him the opposite way of Kin. They both tried forcing their way out, but Kin and her posse ended up finding their way to the end of the crowd, sufficiently blocking their way.

"What? You don't want to talk to me, Sasuke-kun?" Kin batted her eyelashes. Sasuke glared back at Kin.

"Shut up Kin. Of course he doesn't want to talk to you, you're annoying." Naruto responded. Kin bared her teeth at Naruto before turning back to the onyx-eyed boy in front of her.

"Oh, but Sasuke-kun likes annoying girls. Isn't that why you hang around with Haruno?"

"She's not annoying." Sasuke bit back, clenching his teeth.

"That's right," Kin nodded her head in false agreement, "You guys are practically lovers. Am I offending you, Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut. Up."

"Why should I? Who are you anyway? Just some loser geek that actually turned out to be a pretty boy, but so what? You're still a geek. And no matter what Haruno does, she can't have her cake and eat it too. So she can try to salvage her reputation, or she can wither in hell with the likes of you. What will you do, Sasuke-kun, to help your little cherry blossom?" Naruto looked back and forth between Kin and Sasuke and noticed that the tension was rising. Sasuke looked like he was about to hit Kin and her devious grin off her face, so before he even thought about doing it, Naruto pushed Kin out of the way and dragged the Uchiha with him. While they were still within earshot, Kin shouted at their retreating forms.

"Better tell Haruno what I said and watch her back! She's going to need your support,_ literally_, when I'm through with her." She cackled in the distance as Naruto and Sasuke stalked off, out of the cafeteria.

* * *

**Alright! I know it's a short chapter, but I've been working on this **_**forever **_**(procrastination and writer's block at its finest) and I decided a short chapter is better than no chapter. Right? Also, I've realized how much my writing has progressed since then, so looking back on my older chapters, I just want to apologize for how terribly they were written with my not so great characterizations and amateurism. To anyone still reading this though, keep hope! I WILL finish this story (the estimate on when, however, is still in the air), and I hope you will still enjoy it all the same.**


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